<y 


^ 


DUKE 
UNIVERSITY 


DIVINITY  SCHOOL 
LIBRARY 


I 


T  v. 

Of)    \ 


HISTORY   OF   THE 

METHODIST  PROTESTANT   CHURCH. 


HISTORY 


M 

OF     THE 


METHODIST  PROTESTANT 
CHURCH: 

GIVING 

A  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  CAUSES  AND  EVENTS 

THAT     LED     TO     THE 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THAT  CHURCH; 

AND  A  MORE  PARTICULAR  ACCOUNT  OP 

TRANSACTIONS  IN  NORTH  CAROLINA, 

j*[  eber  fie  fore  jjufiltsfieU. 

WITH 

AN    APPENDIX, 

CONTAINING 

A  REVIEW  OF  THE    ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL 

CHURCH,    THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  EPISCOPACY,    AND  THE 

EXCLUSION  OF  THE  LAITY  FROM  THE  COUNCILS 

OF  THE  CHURCH. 

BY    REV.    JOHN    PARIS, 

OF   THE   N.  CAROLINA.   CONFERENCE. 

BALTIMORE: 
PRINTED   BY   SHERWOOD    &   CO. 

N.    W.    CORNER   BALTIMORE   AND    GAY    STS. 

1849. 


.    Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1849, 
By   JOHN    PARIS, 
In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States,  for  the 
State  of  Maryland. 


, 


PREFACE,  pzi 


The  motives  that  induce  an  author  to  present  his 
work  to  the  public  often  become  the  subject  of  spec- 
ulation. The  writer,  in  setting  forth  this  volume,  begs 
leave  to  assure  his  readers  that  he  is  actuated  by 
no  ambitious  or  sinister  motives,  but  his  object  is  to 
vindicate  and  place  truth  in  her  proper  position, 
and  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  and  characters  of 
some  who  are  no  more  numbered  among  the  liv- 
ing. To  this  end  the  late  Dr.  John  F.  Bellamy  had 
collected  materials  for  such  a  work,  but  he  was 
snatched  away  by  the  hand  of  death  before  it  was 
begun.  The  materials  thus  collected  fell  into  the 
hands  of  the  late  Rev.  William  Bellamy,  who,  al- 
though far  advanced  in  life,  had  determined  to  get 
some  friend  to  assist  him  in  writing  and  publishing 
a  history  of  reform  in  the  "Old  Roanoke  District," 
and  had  commenced  arranging  the  documents  rela- 
ting to  the  same,  when  death  called  him,  also,  away 
to  the  spirit  land.  At  the  suggestions  and  in  com- 
pliance with  the  wishes  of  some  of  my  Christian 
brethren,  both  of  the  ministry  and  laity,  I  consented 
to  undertake  to  write  out  the  contemplated  work. 

629562 


VI  PREFACE. 

In  the  outset  it  was  my  intention  to  write  a 
"History  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  in 
North  Carolina;"  but  at  the  suggestion  of  a  minis- 
terial brother  of  an  adjoining  conference,  for  whom 
I  entertain  the  highest  regard,  I  consented  to  alter 
the  plan,  after  I  had  made  considerable  progress, 
and  to  give  a  "general  view  of  the  subject  of  re- 
form throughout  the  United  States,  and  a  particular 
or  definite  account  of  its  rise  in  Carolina."  This 
change  must  account  for  the  character  of  the  former 
part  of  the  work. 

Circumstances  have  demanded  such  a  work. 
Nearly  all  the  "original  reformers"  in  the  ministry 
of  this  state  have  gone  down  to  the  grave ;  the 
motives  by  which  they  were  actuated  have  long 
been  impugned  and  misrepresented,  and  grati- 
tude demands  that  justice  should  be  done  to  their 
memory. 

One  of  those,  who  was  a  faithful  veteran  in  the 
days  of  "reform,"  but  who  is  now  no  more,  has 
left  behind  him  a  well  written  essay  upon  this  sub- 
ject. After  expressing  a  desire  that  such  a  histori- 
cal account  should  be  written,  he  adds,  "  The  writer 
of  this  cannot  suppress  the  belief  that  a  similar  spirit 
to  that  which  hung  the  bones  of  Cromwell  in  chains 
to  gratify  the  resentment  of  monarchy  against  re- 
publicanism, is  here   in  the   old  North  State,  and 


PREFACE.  VI 1 

ready  to  pounce  upon  the  reputation  of  every  con- 
sistent and  faithful  reformer,  so  soon  as  they  and 
their  efficient  friends  have  gone  the  way  of  all  the 
earth." 

The  sources  from  whence  the  writer  has  derived 
his  materials  for  the  work  are  the  papers  and  docu- 
ments collected  by  Dr.  Bellamy,  and  manuscripts 
and  pamphlets  forwarded  by  brethren  from  dif- 
ferent places.  I  have  also  gleaned  many  articles 
and  historical  documents  from  the  columns  of  the 
"Mutual  Rights,"  and  "Mutual  Rights  and  Chris- 
tian Intelligencer."  The  object  of  the  writer  has 
been  to  state  facts  as  they  transpired,  therefore  he 
has  drawn  largely  upon  documents  written  and  pub- 
lished by  the  actors  themselves. 

Tn  the  Appendix,  which  contains  a  review  of  the 
policy  adopted  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  her  organization,  the  introduction  of  episcopacy 
and  the  exclusion  of  the  laity  from  her  councils,  in 
her  rule-making  department,  it  has  been  our  object 
to  show  that  the  reformers  had  just  cause  to  peti- 
tion for  a  change  in  that  government,  and  ask  for 
an  acknowledgment  of  their  ecclesiastical  rights. 

Throughout  the  entire  work  the  object  of  the 
author  has  been  to  exhibit  truth  with  its  natural 
claims.  If  in  this  he  has  failed,  and  error  has  stolen 
into  his  pages,  it  is  his  misfortune  and  not  bis  fault. 


Vlll  PREFACE. 

He  pleads  not  infallibility,  but  rectitude  of  intention. 
The  volume  has  been  written,  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  pages,  amidst  the  anxieties,  cares,  duties 
and  toils  of  an  itinerant  life.  And  in  this  place 
the  writer  most  respectfully  returns  his  thanks  to 
those  highly  esteemed  Christian  brethren  who  have 
so  kindly  afforded  him  facilities  for  the  prosecution 
of  his  work:  and  with  a  willingness  that  the  book 
shall  stand  or  fall  according  to  its  merits,  it  is  here- 
by submitted  to  the  patrons  of  religious  liberty  by 

THE   AUTHOR. 

North  Carolina,  Mat,  1849. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER    I. 

Dissatisfaction  among  the  Local  Ministry  in  North  Carolina  on 
account  of  the  encroachments  of  the  General  Conference. — 
Address  to  the  Bishops  and  Virginia  Annual  Conference. — 
Circular  to  the  District  Conference. — Memorial  to  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1824, 13 

CHAPTER   II  . 

Meeting  of  Reformers  in  Baltimore. — Baltimore  Union  Society 
formed. — Formation  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society; — Its 
Constitution  and  Circular. — Trial  and  defence  of  Rev.  W. 
W.Hill, 41 

CHAPTER    III. 

Protest  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  against  the  ninth  section 
of  Discipline. — Formation  and  Constitution  of  Granville  Union 
Society  in  North  Carolina. — Trials  and  expulsions  of  some  of 
its  members. — Correspondence  between  Ivey  Harris  and  Rev. 
William  Compton  with  regard  to  the  expulsions, 86 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Reform  in  Tennessee. — Trial  of  Rev.  D.  B.  Dorsey  before  the 
Baltimore  Annual  Conference. — Letter  of  Rev.  H.  B.  Bas- 
com  to  Mr.  Dorsey. — Rev.  Mr.  Dorsey's  reply,  giving  an  ac- 
count of  his  trial. — Trials  and  expulsions  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Jennings  and  others  of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society,  by  the 
preacher  in  charge,  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson, 127 

CHAPTER    V. 

Association  of  the  Expelled  Reformers  in  Baltimore. — Declar- 
ation set  forth,  and  withdrawal  of  ladies  in  the  city. — Gen- 
eral Convention  of  reformers  in  Baltimore  in  1827. — Sched- 
ule of  Union  Societies.  —  Resolutions  of  Roanoke  Union 
Society. — Letter  of  Rev.  William  Compton  to  that  body. — 
Review  of  the  Letter  by  Committee  of  Correspondence,. . . .  169 

629562 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Resolutions  of  the  General  Conference  of  1828. — Notification 
of  Rev  Mr.  Compton  to  the  ministers  of  the  Roanoke  Union 
Society. — Examination  of  the  grounds  assumed  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Compton. — Trials  of  the  Local  Ministers  at  Horeb. — Expul- 
sions of  the  same. — Expulsions  at  Albemarle,  in  the  eastern 
part  of  North  Carolina, , 197 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Resolutions  of  the  Union  Society  in  Cincinnati. — Trials  and  ex- 
pulsions of  ministers. — Secession  of  a  large  body  of  members 
from  the  M.  E.  Church.— Letter  of  Dr.  Bishop  to  Rev.  Mr. 
Wright.— Call  of  a  General  Convention  for  1828, 231 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

General  Convention  of  1828. — Articles  of  Association  adopted 
by  the  Convention. — Adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Association 
by  the  reformers  generally. —  Persecution  of  reformers  in 
Virginia. — Progress  of  reform  during  1829. — Letters  and 
Reports  from  the  agents  appointed  by  the  Convention. — Let- 
ters from  Rev.  G.  Brown. — Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Rev. 
A.  McCaine 255 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Organization  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference. — Adoption  of 
the  Constitution  and  Discipline. — Persecution  of  reformers  in 
western  Carolina. — Expulsion  of  Rev.  Travis  Jones. — Organ- 
ization of  associated  Methodist  Churches  and  rapid  spread  of 
reform  principles  in  that  part  of  the  state. — Statistical  table 
of  the  ministers  and  laymen  expelled  for  their  principles  of 
reform  in  the  United  States. — First  Virginia  Annual  Confer- 
ence.— Pennsylvania,  Alabama  and  Georgia  Conferences. — 
Adoption  of  the  conventional  articles  by  a  body  of  Methodist 
Societies  in  W.  New  York,  and  organization  of  the  Genesee 
Conference. — Vermont  and  Tennessee  Conferences — General 
Convention  of  1830. — Constitution  and  Discipline  adopted,. .  287 

CHAPTER    X. 

General  Conference  of  1834.— General  Conference  of  1838. — 
Excitement  in  that  body  upon  the  subject  of  Slavery. — Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1842.— General  Conference  of  1846. — 
Boundaries  of  the  Annual  Conferences. — Statistical  Table. — 
Concluding  Remarks, 315 


CONTENTS.  XI 

APPENDIX. 

CHAPTER    I. 

Episcopacy. — Ordination  among  Methodist  Preachers  in  Vir- 
ginia in  1779.— Letter  of  Mr.  Wesley  to  the  American 
Methodists,  dated  September  10,  1784. — Remarks  upon  the 
preceding  letter. — Dr.  Coke's  letter  of  authority  from  Mr. 
Wesley. — Dr.  Coke's  letter  to  Mr.  Wesley. — Charles  Wesley 
to  his  brother  John. — Extracts  from  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  and  Rev. 
James  O'Kelley, 359 

CHAPTER  II. 
Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  assume  the  title  of  bishop. — Re- 
marks upon  the  same. — Letter  from  Mr.  Wesley  to  a  friend. 
— Letter  from  Mr.  Wesley  to  Mr.  Asbury,  remonstrating 
with  him  about  the  title  "bishop." — Letter  from  Dr.  Coke 
to  Bishop  White  of  Philadelphia,  proposing  a  union  of  the 
Methodist  and  Episcopalian  Churches. — Letter  from  Bishop 
White  to  one  of  his  friends. — Dr.  Coke's  certificate  to  the 
conference. — Dr.  Coke's  letter  to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  soliciting 
the  appointment  of  bishop  in  connexion  with  the  Church  of 
England  to  India. — Remarks  upon  the  foregoing, 367 

CHAPTER    III. 

The  right  of  the  laity  to  participate  in  the  councils  of  the  church 
examined  and  vindicated  from  Scripture. — An  examination  of 
the  steps  taken  in  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  and  the  exclusion  of  the  laity  from  participating  in 
her  councils. — The  justice  and  propriety  of  that  measure 
examined. — Remarks  in  vindication  of  the  character  of  Rev. 
James  O'Kelley, 393 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


METHODIST  PROTESTANT  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Dissatisfaction  among-  the  Local  Ministry  in  North  Carolina  on  ac- 
count of  the  encroachments  of  the  General  Conference. — Address 
to  the  Bishops  and  Virginia  Annual  Conference. — Circular  to 
the  District  Conference. — Memorial  to  the  General  Conference 
of  1824. 

The  chronicles  of  the  past,  whether  sacred  or 
profane,  are  interesting  to  the  inquiring  mind.  By 
resorting  to  the  archives  of  history  we  are  enabled 
to  separate  truth  from  error,  and  offer  contradiction 
to  falsehood  when  she  appears  under  the  garb  of 
tradition.  History  tells  us  of  the  sufferings  and 
toils  through  which  our  forefathers  passed  in  con- 
tending for  that  liberty  which  we  as  a  nation  enjoy. 
And  it  is  also  to  history  that  we  must  look  for  a 
true  and  faithful  narrative  of  the  causes  and  events 
that  led  to  the  securement  of  our  religious  liberties. 
They  should  ever  be  watched  with  a  jealous  eye, 
and  guarded  with  the  most  careful  solicitude,  for 
2 


14  HISTORY    OF   THE 

whatever  belongs  to  our  spiritual  interests,  or  per- 
tains to  our  religious  rights,  is  most  unquestionably 
of  vital  importance. 

The  history  of  Methodism  for  the  last  century 
testifies  to  the  fact  that  the  great  Methodist  family 
are  now  divided  into  several  distinct  ecclesiastical 
denominations.  And  although  such  denominational 
divisions  have  taken  place,  both  in  England  and 
America,  yet  so  far  as  the  doctrines  and  means  of 
grace  taught  by  Mr.  Wesley  are  concerned,  they 
are  all  of  the  same  faith,  and  subscribe  to  the  same 
doctrine  of  salvation.  The  inquiry  then  mignt 
arise,  what  are  the  causes  that  have  led  to  these 
several  divisions  among  the  believers  in  the  doc- 
trines taught  by  Wesley  ?  The  answer  is,  men  have 
had  their  ecclesiastical  rights  withheld  from  them ; 
and  in  order  to  enjoy  them  they  were  sought  in  new 
organizations.  The  student  in  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory will  learn  that  in  every  instance  which  has 
resulted  in  division,  these  rights  have  been  with- 
held by  the  ministry,  exercising  authoritative  pow- 
er, and  who,  evincing  a  disposition  to  lord  it  over 
God's  heritage,  have  thereby  produced  schism  in 
the  body. 

That  every  citizen  of  our  country  has  an  inalien- 
able right  to  be  heard  in  the  law  or  rule-making 
department,  either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  delegated 
by  his  suffrage,  is  a  doctrine  that  surely  no  Ameri- 
can will  deny.  Again,  that  which  is  politically 
right  cannot  be  religiously  wrong;  and  if  we  are 
entitled  to  such  right  in  the  State,  according  to  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  15 

principle  laid  down,  we  are  entitled  to  the  same  in 
the  church. 

The  Bible  is  admitted  among  all  Protestant 
denominations  of  Christians  to  be  the  only  rule  of 
faith  and  practice,  and  consequently  it  becomes  the 
standard  of  religious  morals.  Hence  we  receive  it 
as  an  axiom  of  sound  doctrine  that  no  man  should 
be  divested  of  ecclesiastical  privileges  or  excluded 
from  the  communion  of  the  church  of  Christ,  ex- 
cept it  be  for  conduct  incompatible  with  the  pre- 
cepts and  doctrines  of  the  word  of  God. 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  was  originally 
composed  of  seceders  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  The  causes  of  the  secession  existed  in 
the  polity  of  the  M.  E.  Church;  and  as  those  causes 
have  not  been  generally  understood,  and  as  the  mo- 
tives and  characters  of  the  seceders  or  "  Reformers" 
have  been  impugned,  it  is  the  design  of  the  writer 
to  give  a  faithful  narrative  of  all  that  relates  to  the 
same,  so  far  as  the  records  and  documents  extant, 
which  relate  to  those  things,  afford  information. 
The  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  which  met  in  1S20  adopted  a  rule  granting 
to  the  local  preachers  a  charter,  by  virtue  of  which 
the  local  preachers  in  each  presiding  elder's  district 
were  permitted  to  meet  together  annually  in  Dis- 
trict Conference.  According  to  the  charter,  the 
presiding  elder  by  virtue  of  his  office  was  to  pre- 
side as  chairman.  The  prerogatives  of  this  con- 
ference extended  to  the  granting  of  license  to  preach, 
recommending  preachers  to  the  Annual  Conference 


16  HISTORY    OF    THE 

for  the  itinerancy  and  for  orders,  &c.  Although 
this  charter  had  the  semblance  of  a  boon,  still  the 
local  preachers  as  well  as  the  laity  were  without 
any  voice  whatever  either  in  the  Annual  or  Gen- 
eral Conferences.  The  General  Conference  that 
granted  the  local  preachers'  conference  charter  also 
proceeded  to  enact  some  special  rules  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  local  ministry,  without  any  delegated 
authority  whatever  from  them.  The  assembling 
of  themselves  together  in  the  District  Conferences 
afforded  them  an  ample  opportunity  of  interchang- 
ing with  each  other  their  views  with  regard  to  their 
rights  as  ministers  of  the  church  of  Christ.  Ever 
since  the  establishment  of  the  governing  policy  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  there  were  some  lew  to  be  found 
within  her  pales  who  questioned  the  high  claims  of 
the  itinerant  ministry  -to  exclusive  legislation  and 
authoritative  control.  Soon  after  the  rise  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1S20,  the  subject  began  to 
be  discussed  by  many  who  advocated  the  right  of 
the  local  ministry  and  laity  to  representation  in  the 
rule-making  department  of  the  church.  It  was 
among  the  local  ministry  (particularly  of  the  south) 
that  the  principles  of  the  polity  of  the  M.  E.  Chui-ch 
were  at  this  time  severely  questioned ;  for  feeling 
themselves,  by  virtue  of  their  calling  and  ordination 
to  the  ministry,  entitled  to  the  same  rights  and 
privileges  with  their  brethren  in  the  itinerancy,  and 
finding  themselves  without  a  voice  or  representation 
in  the  rule-making  department  of  the  church,  and 
at  the  same  time  the  itinerant  ministry  beins;  vested 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  17 

with  the  making  as  well  as  the  execution  of  those 
laws,  they  very  naturally  concluded  that  a  disparity 
existed,  unwarranted  by  the  word  of  God  or  the 
nature  and  obligations  of  the  ministerial  office.  At 
the  first  meeting  of  Roanoke  District  Conference  of 
local  preachers  (after  the  granting  of  the  charter) 
the  subject  began  to  be  earnestly  discussed.  The 
General  Conference  of  1820,  as  has  been  remarked, 
passed  some  special  rules  for  the  government  ot 
the  local  ministry,  unrepresented  as  they  were  in 
that  body.  These  rules  had  no  application  what- 
ever to  the  laity.  To  the  local  ministry  it  seemed 
to  be  a  stretch  of  power  unwarranted  in  the  nature 
of  right;  and  as  the  "march  of  power  is  ever  on- 
ward, and  its  tendency  is  to  accumulation,"  many 
of  them  became  alarmed  with  regard  to  the  safety 
of  their  ecclesiastical  rights,  and,  like  our  fore- 
fathers, upon  the  invasion  of  their  rights  by  the  im- 
position of  the  celebrated  tea  tax  and  stamp  act  by 
the  parliamentary  authority  of  Britain,  they  strong- 
ly protested  against  such  a  stretch  of  power  on  the 
part  of  the  General  Conference;  not  on  account  of 
the  restriction  imposed  by  the  rule  above  mentioned, 
as  many  of  the  advocates  of  itinerant  supremacy 
have  very  unjustly  and  unfairly  contended  in  the 
South,  but  on  account  of  the  principle  involved,  legis- 
lation without  representations.  They  took  the 
ground  that  the  General  Conference  had  no  just 
right  to  enact  a  special  rule  for  their  government 
alone  without  their  being  represented  in  that  body 
by  delegated  authority.  -They  laid  down  the  true 
2* 


18  HISTORY    OF    THE 

American  principle,  and  set  up  their  claims  of  right 
to  the  same.  In  the  year  1821*  the  District  Con- 
ference of  local  preachers  for  Roanoke  District  in 
North  Carolina,  in  order  to  bring  the  attention  of 
their  brethren  and  the  church  at  large  to  the  sub- 
ject of  the  encroachments  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, sent  up  an  address  to  the  Virginia  Annual 
Conference. 

The  caption  of  the  address  runs  in  the  fol- 
lowing words :  "Address  to  the  Bishops  and  Vir- 
ginia Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church."  After  expressing  astonishment  at  the 
stretch  of  power  exercised  by  the  General  Confer- 
ence, and  a  regret  that  the  harmony  of  the  itinerant 
and  local  ministry  should  be  threatened  or  disturbed 
thereby,  the  address  proceeds,  "Much  sensibility 

*  During  the  year  1821  the  spirit  of  inquiry  among  the  Method- 
ist people  concerning  their  ecclesiastical  rights  seems  to  have  been 
awakened  throughout  the  United  States,  both  among  the  ministry 
and  the  laity.  This  was  nothing  new.  The  same  inquiry  per- 
vaded the  Methodist  community  in  1794.  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  says, 
"The  same  spirit  prevailed  in  many  places,  both  among  our  local 
preachers  and  private  members.  Some  of  them  contended  that  the 
local  preachers  ought  to  have  a  seat  and  a  vote  in  all  our  confer- 
ences ;  and  others  said  there  ought  to  be  a  delegation  of  lay  mem- 
bers." (Lee's  History  of  the  Methodists,  page  213.)  About  this 
time  the  "Western  Repository"  was  gotten  up,  being  edited  by 
William  S.  Stockton.  In  this  periodical  the  ecclesiastical  rights  of 
the  local  ministry  and  laity  were  discussed  with  marked  ability, 
great  clearness  and  force,  by  writers  from  various  parts  of  the 
Union.  Although  the  local  ministry  in  Carolina  were  among  the 
first  in  asserting  and  vindicating  their  rights,  yet  the  laity  seem  to- 
have  lain  dormant  upon  the  question  until  the  formation  of  the 
Baltimore  Union  Society,  as  will  be  noticed  in  its  proper  place. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  19 

is  created,  and  inquiry  is  set  on  foot  whether  the 
General  Conference  possesses  any  constitutional 
right,  consistent  with  the  articles  of  the  church  and 
the  economy  of  Methodism,  to  pass  such  a  rule  or 
make  such  a  law.  It  is  considered  by  some  that 
they  have  not,  because  the  24th  Article  of  the  Church 
disallows  the  idea  that  the  goods,  riches,  &c,  of 
Christians  are  common,  as  touching  the  right,  title 
and  possession  of  the  same,  as  some  do  falsely 
boast.  They  think,  as  that  article  grants  to 
Christian  men  the  exclusive  right,  title  and  pos- 
session of  their  own  property,  the  fair  conse- 
quence is  that  the  General  Conference  have  no 
right  to  impose  a  restriction  upon  them  in  the 
manufacture  or  transfer  thereof,  beyond  what  the 
law  of  the  nation,  honesty  and  religion  do  mani- 
festly require. 

"  We  do  hereb}^  most  earnestly  ask  the  opinion 
of  the  Bishops  and  Conference  upon  the  subject. 
And  if  they  should  be  of  opinion  that  the  General 
Conference  have  the  right  to  pass  the  aforesaid 
law,  then  we  would  most  respectfully  ask  the 
Bishops,  Conference  and  traveling  preachers  at 
large,  whether  there  be  any  constitutional  limits 
prescribed  in  the  system  of  Methodism  bej^ond 
which  the  General  Conference  cannot  go  in  lay- 
ing restrictions  upon  the  local  preachers,  as  a 
condition  of  holding  their  office  t  And  if  they 
think  that  the  system  does  prescribe  limits  to 
the  legislative  authority  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, respecting   the   local  preachers,  we   would 


20  HISTORY    OF    THE 

feel  a  peculiar  satisfaction  in  seeing  the  limits 
of  their  power  fully  and  plainly  stated  by  proper 
authority.* 

"  But  if  the  traveling  preachers  are  of  opinion 
that  the  General  Conference  is  under  no  restriction 
in  that  respect,  but  are  at  full  liberty  to  require  any 
sacrifices  of  the  local  preachers,  which  they  may 
from  time  to  time  think  proper  to  exact;  or  that  the 
General  Conference,  in  conjunction  with  the  travel- 
ing preachers  at  large,  are  under  no  constitutional 
restraint  beyond  which  they  cannot  go  respecting 
the  local  preachers;  in  that  case  this  conference 
would  respectfully  ask  whether,  considering  the  re- 
finement and  liberality  of  the  country  and  age  in 
which  we  live,  the  vast  and  growing  numbers,  the 
talent,  influence,  zeal  and  utility  of  the  local  preach- 
ers, a  reform  in  the  system  of  church  government  is 
not  necessary,  so  far,  at  least,  as  respects  the  local 
preachers,  by  granting  them  a  charter  sufficiently 
clear  to  secure  thereafter  their  official  dignity  and 
domestic  tranquillity  from  any  further  encroach- 
ments ;  or  else  admit  them  to  an  equal  share  in  the 
councils  of  the  church,  at  least  so  far  as  self-gov- 
ernment is  concerned  ?  For  why  should  the  local 
preachers  alone  be  considered   incapable  of  self- 

*We  have  inserted  this  address  of  the  "  Roanoke  District 
Conference"  of  local  preachers  because  the  motives  of  the  local 
preachers  have  been  misrepresented,  on  account  of  this  very  ad- 
dress. Their  object  was  not  to  ask  a  repeal  of  this  rule  under  the 
circumstances,  but  to  oppose  the  grounds  taken  by  the  General 
Conference,  to  enact  special  rules  for  their  government  without 
their  consent. 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  21 

government  ?  Does  a  man  become  a  political 
idiot  by  becoming  a  local  preacher  among  the 
Methodists? 

"  But  it  has  been  said,  if  we  admit  delegates 
from  the  local  order  into  the  General  Conference, 
we  shall  form  too  large  a  body  to  do  business.  To 
this  we  reply,  fix  the  ratio  upon  a  large  scale,  and 
the  number  of  representatives  will  be  found  full 
small  to  do  business — for  example,  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States.  It  has  been  said  that  local 
preachers  have  local  ideas  and  local  prejudices; 
and  if  they  were  admitted  into  the  clerical  council, 
they  would  corrupt  the  church  and  overturn  the 
itinerant  plan !  To  which  we  answer  by  the  same 
mode  of  reasoning,  the  itinerant  preachers  have 
itinerant  ideas  and  itinerant  prejudices.  And  how 
can  they  legislate  for  local  churches  without  a 
minute  knowledge  of  their  situation  and  their  pecu- 
liar difficulties  ?  Be  that  as  it  may,  we  have  no 
desire  to  take  upon  us  the  care  of  all  the  churches, 
and  the  awful  responsibility  of  governing  the  church 
of  God,  which  he  purchased  with  his  own  blood. 
We  do,  however,  wish  to  understand  and  exercise 
our  rights  as  Christians  and  Methodist  preachers, 
and  be  able  to  defend,  upon  the  grounds  of  ScrijJ- 
ture,  reason  and  common  sense,  whatever  is  found  in 
the  system  of  Methodism :  that  the  two  armies  of 
the  Shulamite  may  be  able  to  hold  the  position  as- 
signed them,  and  with  harmonious  energy  and  un- 
wearied diligence  press  towards  the  mark  for  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Jesus  Christ. 


22  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  We  have  the  honor  and  happiness  to  be,  with 
high  consideration  and  great  esteem,  your  fellow 
laborers  in  the  bonds  of  the  gospel. 
"On  behalf  of  the  conference, 

"Wm.  Bellamy,  President  pro  tern. 
"Jos.  B.  Hinton,  Secretary. 

"  December  7th,  1821." 

The  language  of  this  address  is  the  language  of 
men  who  felt  that  their  rights  were  not  safe.  The 
rule  of  which  they  complained  applied  to  them 
alone,  as  a  distinct  order  of  men  in  the  church ; 
they  doubted  the  right  of  the  General  Conference 
to  enact  or  adopt  such  a  rule  with  respect  to 
them;  and  fearing  that  the  same  authority  might 
encroach  still  further  upon  their  right,  such  was  the 
first  step  they  took  to  make  manifest  their  views 
with  regard  to  those  rights.  It  will  be  perceived 
that  they  complain  of  the  stretch  of  power  exer- 
cised by  the  General  Conference  in  adopting  what 
they  call  "the  Spirit-making  rule,"  yet  they  ask  for 
no  repeal  of  that  rule,  but  modestly  inquire  after 
their  rights,  and  of  the  propriety  of  being  repre- 
sented by  authority  delegated  by  their  suffrages  in 
that  council  which  had  ventured  to  adopt  a  rule  for 
their  spiritual  government.  The  address  reached 
the  Virginia  Annual  Conference,  and  upon  being 
read,  one  of  the  members  moved  that  it  be  thrown 
under  the  table,  but  Bishop  McKendree,  who  oc- 
cupied the  chair,  interposed,  saying,  "Feelings, 
brethren,  men's  feelings  must  be  respected."  The 
address  was  laid  upon  the  table,  and  when  it  was 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  23 

taken  up  and  considered  an  answer  was  ordered  to 
be  sent  to  the  petitioners,  but  through  some  man- 
agement or  unaccountable  delay,  the  answer  was 
not  received  by  the  Roanoke  District  Conference 
until  two  conference  years  had  passed  away. 

At  the  session  of  the  Roanoke  District  Confer- 
ence, held  at  Whitaker  s  chapel  in  1822,  a  resolu- 
tion was  passed  authorizing  the  secretary  to  for- 
ward a  copy  of  the  address  "to  the  Bishops  and 
Virginia  Annual  Conference"  to  the  several  Dis- 
trict Conferences  of  local  preachers  throughout  the 
United  States,  together  with  a  circular  letter  ac- 
companying the  same.  The  design  in  forwarding 
these  documents  or  addresses  to  the  District  Con- 
ferences was  to  bring  the  attention  of  their  brethren 
abroad  to  a  candid  consideration  of  their  common 
rights  as  ministers  in  the  church  of  their  choice. 
The  circular  is  addressed 

To  the  several  District  Conferences  of  the  Local  Preach- 
ers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church: 

In  the  economy  of  Methodism  this  conference 
readily  perceive  much  to  praise,  much  to  admire 
on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  much  to  censure, 
much  to  deplore.  The  prominent  features  of  our 
system,  our  doctrines,  our  episcopacy,  our  itinerant 
plan,  our  general  rules  and  usages,  are  so  scrip- 
tural, so  apostolic,  and  contain  so  much  of  primi- 
tive simplicity  and  piety,  that  they  successfully 
challenge  the  whole  world  for  a  comparison,  and 
afford  us  no  little  exultation  that  we  are  members 


24  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  a  church  so  evangelical,  so  apostolical.  These, 
under  the  divine  blessing,  have  suddenly  caused 
her  to  look  "forth  as  the  morning,  fair  as  the  moon, 
clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  ban- 
ners ;"  and  have  marked  her  victorious  course  in  the 
Redeemer's  cause  with  a  lucid  glory,  unequaled 
since  the  illustrious  founders  of  Christianity  entered 
upon  their  eternal  reward.  In  these  ever  to  be 
held  sacred  features  it  would  be  more  than  sacrilege 
to  wish  an  innovation.  But  then  on  the  other  hand 
the  enormous  prerogatives  with  which  the  itine- 
rancy invested  themselves  are  at  variance  with  "the 
refinement  and  liberality  of  the  country  and  age  in 
which  we  live,"  and  contrary  to  the  plainest  max- 
ims of  common  justice.  Those  who  serve  the 
church  in  the  holy  office  of  the  ministry  certainly 
deserve  to  be  honored;  and  no  ministers  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  can  possibly  have  stronger  claims 
to  the  highest  consideration  than  our  brethren  of 
the  itinerancy,  yet  we  cannot  discover  either  reason 
or  propriety  in  their  uniting  in  themselves  solely  the 
entire  executive,  legislative  and  judicial  powers  of 
the  church,  and  that,  too,  without  assigning  any 
limits  or  checks  or  accountability  for  the  due 
exercise  thereof. 

Thus  in  truth  and  fact  the  local  ministry  of  our 
cmirch — although  so  numerous,  and  enriched  with 
so  much  talent,  experience,  zeal,  influence,  use- 
fulness and  devotedness  to  the  church  of  their 
best  affections,  and  containing  such  numbers,  who 
nursed    and   guarded    her   in   infancy   and   child- 


METHODIST    FROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


25 


hood  with  the  tenderest  solicitude  and  faithfulness, 
and  aided  in  giving  her  a  name  and  a  place  among 
the  churches,  by  the  intensity  of  their  labors  and 
exposure — have  been  driven  into  local  life  to  seek 
that  repose  which  worn  out  lungs,  premature  decays 
and  complicated  afflictions  demanded.  These 
tottering  remnants  and  frosted  locks  of  other  days, 
in  common  with  their  other  local  brethren,  are  not 
allowed  by  the  traveling  connection  to  be  more  than 
mere  ciphers  in  point  of  authority^  nor  Jo  rnaintain 
any  better  than  a  kind  of  proscribed  standing.  This 
unprecedented  intolerance,  the  more  remarkable 
because jnyifiious,  exists  in  no  other  church;  nor  in 
any  one  except  ours  does  less  than  one-third  of  the 
ministry  assume  the  entire  control,  to  the  utter  ex- 
clusion of  the  lar°er  co-ordinate  branch  from  even 
a  voice  in~  the  making  of  the  very  laws  by  which 
themselves  are  to  be  governed.  Many  noble,  gen- 
erous spirits  in  the  itinerancy  regret,  as  well  as 
ourselves,  the  retention  of  this  most  absurd  princi- 
ple in  our  Discipline,  and  would  hail  that  day  as  a 
new  and  happy  era  in  Methodism  in  which  it  shall 
be  expunged. 

As  local  men  we  are  indeed  allowed  to  preach, 
under  certain  circumstances;  but  however  suc- 
cessful our  labors  or  urgent  the  necessity  may  be, 
we  have  no  authority  to  form  a  society  or  to  receive 
a  member.  We  are  permitted  to  receive  ordination, 
after  a  lengthy  probation,  provided  we  can  make  it 
appear  that  our  official  services  are  needed ;  and 
veiy  latterly  we  have  been  rescued  from  long  neg- 
3 


26  HISTORY    OF    THE 

lected  obscurity  by  the  grant  of  the  Local  Confer- 
ence Charter;  but  then,  as  if  unable  to  govern  our- 
selves, the  presidency  thereof  is  committed  to  an 
itinerant  minister,  who  may,  whenever  he  pleases, 
attempt  to  prevent  the  freedom  of  investigation 
and  stifle  complaint.  Such  doings  have  already 
been  seen. 

Does  the  just  discontent  of  the  locality  arrest  the 
attention  of  the  General  Conference  ?  As  if  to  drive 
us  into  silent  submission,  the  "Spirit"  making  rule 
is  hung  over  us  in  terrorem!  Do  the  South  and 
West  and  North  importune  the  General  Conference 
for  the  acknowledgment  of  our  rights  ?  To  pacify 
or  amuse  us,  an  ignis  faluus  toy,  the  District  Con- 
ference, is  given  us.  Do  the  deliberations  of  the 
District  Conference  turn  on  our  injuries  and  the 
remedy?  Certain  members  of  the  powers  that  be 
threaten  to  strip  us  of  even  this  little  brief  au- 
thority! Do  we  as  a  recognizing  conference  re- 
spectfully spread  the  grievances  of  the  local  order 
before  the  bishops  and  members  of  an  Annual 
Conference,  and  ask  information,  advice  and  re- 
lief? We  are  not  even  favored  with  a  reply !  Here 
we  pause — here  close  the  painful  detail — all  our 
wrongs  we  "  must  not,  will  not  tell." 

And  what  is  the  fault  of  the  local  preachers  to 
merit  all  this  contumely?  Are  we  aliens  to  the 
commonwealth  of  Israel,  and  strangers  to  the  cov- 
enant of  promise  ?  or  are  we  indeed  "  incapable 
of  self-government  ?  or  must  we  go  in  quest  of  an- 
other Moses  to  lead  us  from  our  neglected  and  pro- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


27 


scribed  condition  into  that  state  of  privilege  and 
usefulness  to  which  our   numbers  and  common  jus- 
tice entitle  us  ?     Providence  did,  indeed,  open  the 
auspicious   door  to  our  itinerant  brethren  for  the 
restoration  of  entire  confidence,  harmony  and  cor- 
dial co-operation  between  themselves  and  us  when 
the  District  Conference  measure  was  under  discus- 
sion.    If  these  conferences  had  only  been  made  a 
little    more    efficient,   and    one    "delegate"    from 
each  had  been  allowed  to  take  a  seat  in  the  "  Gen- 
eral Council,"  with  a  like  number  of  representa- 
tives from  the  Annual  Conferences,  it  would  have 
formed  a  representation  so  equal  and  so  reasonable 
that  it  would  for  ever  have  silenced  the  voice  of 
murmur  ;  a  concession,  magnanimous,  would  have 
cemented  indissolubly  the  bonds  of  concord  and 
ministerial   attachment  between   us.      This,  how- 
ever, has  been  left  undone.    Justice  and  self-respect 
now  equally  urge  us  to  claim  it  as  a  right. 

Notwithstanding  the  native  inanity  of  the  Dis- 
trict Conferences,  brethren,  we  may  make  them 
immensely  important.  They  are  pregnant  with 
events  of  the  most  momentous  kind,  and  bid  fair  to 
be  harbingers  of  good  things  to  come.  They  are 
admirably  calculated  to  bring  the  local  preachers 
together,  to  form  intimate  acquaintances ;  and, 
moreover,  those  heretofore  held  within  the  Roanoke 
District  have  been  largely  blessed,  both  to  preachers 
and  people.  Therefore,  this  conference  do  entreat 
you,  dear  brethren,  with  respectful  earnestness,  if 
possible  attend  them  in  your  respective  districts; 


28  HISTORY    OP    THE 

assured  as  we  are  a  rich  harvest  of  solid  satisfaction 
will  be  }rour  certain  reward.  The  Local  Confer- 
ence of  the  Roanoke  District,  in  transmitting  to 
your  respective  conferences  copies  of  our  Minutes 
and  of  our  Address  to  the  Bishops  and  members  of 
the  Virginia  Conference,  together  with  this  circular 
letter,  seek  a  reciprocation  of  the  favor.  We  shall 
be  extremely  gratified  and  obliged  by  receiving  in 
exchange  copies  of  the  Minutes  of  your  respective 
conferences,  together  with  any  communication  you 
may  think  proper  to  make.  And  we  particularly 
ask  a  friendly  correspondence,  disclosing  such 
views  as  you  may  have,  or  may  form,  concerning 
the  claims  and  the  course  which  the  great  body  of 
local  preachers  in  America  ought  to  pursue  to  ob- 
tain their  formal  acknowledgment.  In  the  interim 
would  it  not  be  very  advisable  that  each  District 
Conference,  at  its  next  meeting,  prepare  a  respect- 
ful memorial,  to  be  forwarded  to  the  next  General 
Conference,  claiming  our  most  obvious  rights, 
either  a  "charter  sufficiently  clear  to  secure  there- 
after our  official  dignity  and  domestic  tranquillity 
from  any  further  encroachments,  or  else  to  share 
equally  in  the  councils  of  the  Church?" 

[Signed]  Jos.  B.  Hinton, 

Secretary  of  the  Conference. 
Washington,  N.  C,  January  1st,  1823. 

The  above  circular  address  sets  forth  the  views 
of  the  local  ministry  with  regard  to  the  church  of 
their  choice  with  clearness,  and  likewise  states 
their  grievances  with  that  candor  which  the  nature 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  29 

of  the  circumstances  demanded.  Viewing  them- 
selves as  virtually  proscribed,  so  far  as  authority 
in  the  church,  or  weight,  or  influence  in  the  rule- 
making department  was  concerned,  they  made  this 
appeal  to  their  brethren  abroad  who  were  similarly 
situated,  that  they  might  make  one  common  cause 
together;  and  by  such  union  increase  their  strength 
to  vindicate  their  rights,  and  plead  for  a  redress  of 
their  grievances. 

There  is  one  item  in  the  "economy  of  Method- 
ism" in  which  they  say  they  "perceive  much  to 
admire,"  that  draws  the  particular  attention  of  the 
reader,  and  that  item  is  "Episcopacy."  At  this 
period  of  the  agitation  of  the  subject  of  reform  in 
the  M.  E.  Church  but  little  complaint  had  been 
made  on  account  of  the  episcopal  office,  which  had 
been  imposed  upon  the  church  at  its  organization 
under  the  sanction  of  Mr.  Wesley's  name.  In  1790 
the  Rev.  James  O'Kelly  and  his  colleagues  had 
opposed  the  stretch  of  authority  exercised  by  Mr. 
Asbury,  but  in  vain  ;  for  he  tells  us,  "Francis  was 
born  and  nurtured  in  the  land  of  kings  and  bishops, 
and  that  which  is  bred  in  the  bone  is  hard  to  be 
got  out  of  the  flesh." 

But  in  the  year  1826,  when  that  masterly  treatise 
appeared,  the  "History  and  Mystery  of  Methodist 
Episcopacjr,  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  M'Caine," 
which  showed  most  clearly  that  the  episcopal 
office  had  been  foisted  upon  the  church  in  America 
contrary  to  the  desire  or  intention  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
the  friends  of  reform  no  longer  viewed  it  as  an  acl- 
3* 


30  HISTORY    OF    THE 

mirable  feature  in  Methodist  economy,  but  re- 
garded it  as  spurious  and  altogether  questionable 
as  regarded  its  legality. 

To  the  foregoing  address  several  District  Con- 
ferences  responded  in  the  most  friendly  man- 
ner, and  cheered  onward  the  friends  of  reform ; 
but  from  some  others  the  responses  were  cold  and 
indifferent;  and  from  the  Huntsville  Conference, 
which  employed  their  presiding  elder  to  pen  their 
answer,  who  was  said  to  be  a  "Scotchman  of  the 
old  Tory  school,"  they  received  downright  insult. 
About  this  time  it  was  intimated  by  some  in  high 
authority  that  the  "Local  Conference  Charter" 
would  be  withdrawn,  and  the  local  ministry  be- 
came seriously  alarmed  concerning  the  manner  in 
which  their  rights  were  viewed  by  the  powers  that 
be.  The  itinerancy  had  discovered  that  the  local 
ministry  in  their  District  Conferences,  by  conferring 
together,  were  disposed  to  inquire  after  their  rights, 
and  also  to  form  a  definite  opinion  with  regard  to 
the  same,  which  was  becoming  fully  manifested  by 
the  tenor  of  their  circulars  and  memorials. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Roanoke  District  Confer- 
ence at  Washington,  in  December,  1823,  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  to  address  the  following  me- 
morial to  the  General  Conference  that  was  to  sit  in 
the  city  of  Baltimore  in  May,  1824,  and  also  to  for- 
ward a  copy  of  the  same  to  all  the  sister  District 
Conferences : 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  31 

To  the  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  to  he  next  holden  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  in 
May,  1S24 : 

Dear  Brethren, — With  unusual  solicitude  we 
importune  your  patient,  friendly  and  impartial  de- 
liberations and  resolves — deliberations  and  resolves 
which,  in  our  humble  opinion,  vitally  concern  the 
harmony  and  peace  of  thousands.  We  charitably 
hope  that  in  an  order  so  sacred  as  yours,  and  in  a 
body  clothed  with  functions  so  heavenly,  no  indi- 
vidual will  be  found  disposed  to  stifle  our  com- 
plaints, to  disregard  our  lamentations,  or  to  scoff"  aty 
our  equitable  claims  ;  but  we  rather  trust  that  you 
only  wait  to  know  our  grievances,  that  in  the  plen- 
itude of  your  love  and  justice  you  may  find  oppor- 
tunity to  relieve  them  all.  Brethren,  you  have 
already  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are 
glad.  The  Local  Conference  Charter,  which,  by 
your  giving  and  our  receiving,  has  now  become  an 
unalienable  right,  upon  the  ground  of  mutual  agree- 
ment, we  hold  with  gratitude,  and  will  guard  in- 
violably. We  feel  a  sort  of  newr  creation  by  its  influ- 
ence, a  sort  of  resurrection  from  official  death.  If 
love  the  most  animating,  union  the  most  enduring, 
deliberations  the  most  important,  investigations  the 
most  searching,  and  resolves  the  most  laudable  and 
useful,  be  fanciful  figments  in  the  Christian  character, 
then  we  shall  admit,  and  not  until  then,  with  our 
Huntsville  brethren,  that  Local  Conferences  are  mere 
"  ignis fatuus  toys,"  unworthy  of  our  reception  and  of 
your  wisdom,  and  in  such  case,  with  them  we  may 


32  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ungratefully  tell  you  to  take  back  the  childish  toy. 
But,  brettnen,  we  are  persuaded  that  by  this  grant, 
just  as  it  is  composed,  of  a  local  body  and  an  itin- 
erant head  or  president,  you  have  laid  a  broad 
base  for  an  extended  and  permanent  union  of  the 
local  and  itinerant  orders  of  our  church ;  and  have 
so  concentrated  the  energies  of  the  local  order  as 
to  make  them  of  vastly  additional  importance  to 
our  connection  and  to  the  world.  Burning  as  the 
ordeal  is  through  which  our  characters  pass  annu- 
ally, neither  this  nor  any  other  motive  shall  cause 
us,  with  our  Huntsville  brethren,  to  pant  again  for 
the  sloth,  the  neglect,  the  flesh  pots  of  Egypt ;  but 
you,  as  our  Moses,  by  giving  us  the  charter,  have 
led  us  through  the  Red  sea.  Carry  us,  lead  us,  or 
go  with  us  a  little  further,  and  we  will  mutually 
share  the  delights  of  the  promised  land,  and  set 
peaceably  and  harmoniously  together  under  the 
olive  of  heaven.  We  have  some  old  Calebs  among 
us  who  were  with  some  of  you,  the  veterans  of 
former  days,  amid  the  wilderness,  of  America. 
That  those  aged  heralds,  at  least,  of  the  living  God, 
ask  a  place  at  your  side,  not  under  your  feet,  nor 
over  your  heads,  should  not  surprise  you ;  and 
should  the  hand  of  God  shortly  lead  them  up  to 
heaven,  you  certainly  will  feel  no  hesitancy  in 
admitting  the  Joshuas  they  may  leave  behind  to  a 
place  in  your  armies,  upon  the  ground  of  equal 
rights.  Our  wishes,  our  claims  are  but  few,  and, 
in  our  opinion,  founded  in  principles  of  policy  so 
reasonable  and  equitable  that  you  cannot  find  it  in 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  33 

your  hearts  to  disallow  them.  First  of  all,  we  beg, 
or  rather  claim,  as  a  matter  of  right,  the  removal 
from  our  Discipline  of  the  rule  or  law  prohibiting 
local  preachers  from  distilling  and  retailing  spirit- 
uous liquors,  under  certain  penalties,  not  because 
the  rule  affects  our  interest,  but,  first,  because  we 
never  subscribed  to  such  a  rule;  secondly,  we 
have  not  made  it  valid  by  any  subsequent  admis- 
sion or  agreement;*  and  thirdly,  it  involves  a  prin- 
ciple which,  as  men,  Americans  and  Christians,  we 
can  not,  we  will  not  admit,  namely,  that  any  power, 
whether  in  the  hands  of  one  man  or  many,  has  any 
implied,  expressed  or  equitable  right  to  make  laws 
for  our  government  without  our  consent  or  repre- 
sentation. If  the  principle  involved  in  the  creation 
of  that  law  be  admitted,  laws  may  be  multiplied  to 
any  extent  for  our  government,  and  the  same  au- 
thority that  creates  may  abolish,  until  our  Disci- 
pline may  be  so  mutilated  or  metamorphosed  as  to 
be  any  thing  besides  what  it  was  when  we  sub- 
scribed to  it. 

To  guard  against  future  encroachments  of  a  simi- 
lar nature,  and  to  place  our  church  upon  a  more 
elevated  and  liberal  ground,  we  humbly  crave  and 
firmly  claim  for  our  order  the  right  of  local  repre- 
sentation in  the  General  Conference  of  our  church. 
The  principle  upon  which  this  claim  is  founded, 
you  acted  upon  in  the  Local  Conference  grant. 
The  great  object  of  our  church  government  should 
be  to  maintain  the  most  intimate  union  and  har- 
mony between  the  two   great   orders   peculiar  to 


34  HISTORY    OP    THE 

our  church,  itinerant  and  local.  This  object  you 
wisely  sought  to  secure,  by  uniting  an  itinerant 
head  with  a  local  body,  in  the  Local  Conference 
grant.  Here  the  two  orders,  with  their  peculiar 
views,  harmoniously  blend  in  one ;  and  whatever 
may  be  the  doubts  of  distrust  or  inexperience,  we 
already  perceive  that  where  wisdom  and  goodness 
prevail,  as  we  hope  they  ever  will  in  these  confer- 
ences, vast  benefits  will  accrue  from  this  union ; 
and  we  respectfully  ask  whether  you  do  not  accord 
with  us  in  opinion  that  if  this  miniature  effort  to 
harmonize  and  unite  the  two  orders  has  been  pro- 
ductive of  results  so  beneficial,  whether  an  admis- 
sion of  the  local  order,  upon  a  fair  ratio  of  repre- 
sentation, into  the  General  Conference  must  not 
eventually  produce  a  oneness  of  soul  and  of  object, 
and  vastly  illuminate  and  strengthen  the  delibera- 
tions of  that  conference  ?  Not  that  we  pretend 
that  wisdom  belongs  to  us,  but  we  think  you  will 
admit  with  us  that  a  concentration  of  ideas  and 
feelings  of  men,  scattered  over  a  country  so  exten- 
sive as  ours,  and  so  variously  experienced  in  the 
adventures  of  life  and  of  nature,  would  vastly  im- 
prove the  deliberations  of  any  deliberative  body. 
Bat,  brethren,  when  we  modestly  and  affection- 
ately tell  you  that  we  ask,  not  as  a  privilege,  but 
claim  as  a  right,  which  we  never  expect  to  relin- 
quish, namely,  a  voice  in  making  the  laws  by 
which  we  are  to  be  governed,  we  entreat  you  not 
hastily  to  reproach  us  with  an  inordinate  thirst  for 
power.     If  we  ask  for  power,  "it  is  only  to  live  in 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  60 

the  elements  of  civil  and  religious  freedom ;  it  is 
only  to  walk  with  you  upon  the  same  level  along 
the  road  to  heaven.  In  justification  of  your  own 
wisdom,  liberality  and  goodness — for  the  honor  and 
interests  of  Methodism — for  the  success  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  in  these  United  States,  never 
let  it  be  said  by  an  American  that  you  were  even 
willing  to  legislate,  without  their  consent,  for  some 
thousands  of  your  ministerial  brethren,  many  of 
whom  have  long  since  taken  all  the  grades  of  pro- 
motion which  our  church  allows,  except  that  of  the 
bishopric,  and  have  served  with  honor  the  highest 
throughout  the  war.  The  events  of  twenty,  thirty  or 
forty  years  will  tell  their  honorable  history,  when  their 
spirits  have  fled  to  heaven  and  their  remains  are 
motionless  in  the  dust,  which  will  soon  be  the  case 
with  many  of  them.  But  for  the  stern  demands  of 
principle,  and  their  ardent  devotion  to  the  Saviour's 
kingdom,  they  would  no  more  trouble  you  with  a 
word  or  a  sigh,  but  patiently  wait  the  hour  when 
you  would  feel  entirely  willing  to  join  them  in  hal- 
lelujah, hallelujah  to  God  and  to  the  Lamb,  what- 
ever your  scruples  may  now  be  about  deliberating 
with  them  here.  Brethren,  we  cheerfully  admit  that 
hitherto  in  this  great  matter  you  have  been  gov- 
erned by  policy  which  you  thought  best,  and  not 
by  lordly  views  over  God's  heritage.  But  time  and 
experience  will  generally  ameliorate  and  improve 
the  best  inventions  of  men,  and  we  respectfully 
beseech  you,  in  the  disposal  of  this  appeal  to  your 
justice  and  magnanimity,  in  support  of  a  radical  im- 


36 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


provement   in   ours,  to   exercise    that  moderation, 
love  and  prayer  which  accompanied  its  creation. 

Brethren,  suffer  not  yourselves  to  suspect  the 
purity  of  our  motives ;  number  us  not  with  wild 
adventurers  on  hazardous  experiments.  You  can- 
not help  perceiving  that  if  we  err,  it  is  an  excessive 
devotion  to  the  vital  principles  of  primitive  Meth- 
odism. Much  as  we  confide  in  your  love  and 
wisdom,  any  departure  from  her  ancient  laws  we 
scrutinize,  and  only  ask  the  privilege  to  join  you  in 
making  her  stakes  strong,  and  in  rearing  high  her 
invulnerable  bulwarks  ;  and  upon  the  most  sacred 
dictates  of  principle  and  love  we  beseech  you  not 
hastily  to  conclude  that  you  have  no  need  of  us. 

Had  we  been  governed  by  views  of  ambition, 
long  since  we  should  have  endeavored  not  only  to 
rival  you  in  the  estimation  of  our  lay  brethren,  but 
to  obstruct  your  progress  in  your  itinerant  career. 
But  where  is  the  hand  among  us  that  has  not  ad- 
ministered cheerfully  to  the  necessities  of  our  itin- 
erant brethren  ?  Have  our  hearts  been  less  open 
to  receive  them  than  our  doors?  And  what  tongue 
among  us  has  failed  to  advocate  their  cause  ? 
Brethren,  you  certainly  will  consider  us  of  some 
use  in  the  household  of  God.  Say  not  then,  we 
again  beseech  you,  by  refusing  our  claims,  that  you 
have  no  need  of  us.  We  wish  with  you  to  live  and 
die.  But  we  again  repeat,  modestly,  affectionately, 
and  firmly,  that  we  never  expect  to  revoke  our 
claims.  Brethren,  abolish  the  rule  alluded  to,  and 
give  us  an  equal  voice  in  making  the  laws  by  which 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  37 

we  are  to  be  governed,  and  in  so  doing  you  will 
honor  yourselves  in  the  estimation  of  discerning 
men ;  place  on  elevated  principles  the  policy  of 
our  church;  promote  the  interest  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom,  and  unite  in  one  two  great  bodies  which 
now  feel  an  alarming  and  widening  severance. 
The  oldest  man  among  you  never  did,  nor  the 
youngest  never  will  be  required  to  give  a  voice  or 
a  vote  on  a  more  important  and  perhaps  ominous 
question  to  our  church  than  that  comprised  in  this 
address.  And  may  He  who  does  all  things  well 
rule  over  and  govern  your  resolves  in  this  matter. 
Henry  Holmes,  President. 

Joseph  B.  Hinton,  Secretary. 

How  calm,  how  courteous,  and  how  dignified  is 
the  foregoing  address  !  How  christianlike  is  the 
spirit  that  it  breathes  !  Penned  and  adopted  by 
Americans  who  inhaled  the  pure  air  of  repub- 
licanism, it  sets  forth  their  views  of  their  rights  in 
a  clear  and  lucid  manner.  The  mind  is  at  once 
struck  with  the  similarity  of  the  doctrines  therein 
laid  down  and  of  those  of  our  American  ancestors 
that  protested  against  the  celebrated  "tea  tax  and 
stamp  act,"  which  produced  the  American  revolu- 
tion, and  eventuated  in  the  establishment  of  the 
liberties  of  our  country.  Notwithstanding  the 
charitable  spirit  of  this  memorial,  and  the  highly 
respectable  and  pious  body  from  which  it  emana- 
ted, there  have  been  found  men  who  have  shown 
themselves  willing  to  impugn  the  motives  that  gave 
it  birth,  and  to  ascribe  to  the  friends  of  reform 
4 


38  HISTORY    OF    THE 

designs  and  intentions  unworthy  of  the  Christian 
name.  It  has  been  urged  by  the  enemies  of  reform 
that  "  the  Spirit-making  rule,"  which  had  been 
made  for  the  government  of  the  local  ministers 
alone,  stood  opposed  to  their  temporal  interests ; 
and  hence  their  opposition  to  the  same.  But  let 
the  truth-loving  reader  bear  in  mind  the  reasons 
assigned  by  those  memorialists  why  they  prayed 
for  a  "removal"  of  that  rule — "not  because  the 
rule  affected  our  interest,  but,  first,  because  we  never 
subscribed  to  such  a  rule ;  secondly,  we  have  not 
made  it  valid  by  any  subsequent  admission  or 
agreement ;  and,  thirdly,  it  involves  a  principle 
which,  as  men,  Americans  and  Christians,  we  can- 
not, we  will  not  admit,  namely,  that  any  power, 
whether  in  the  hands  of  one  man  or  many,  has  any 
implied,  expressed,  or  equitable  right  to  make  laws 
for  our  government  without  our  consent  or  repre- 
sentation." Here,  then,  is  the  clear  American 
principle  laid  down.  And  the  writer  would  ask, 
what  American  heart  can  find  fault  with  it  ? 

The  memorial  was  the  prayer  of  the  local  minis- 
ters alone ;  they  spread  their  petition  before  the 
General  Conference  with  respect  to  their  own  rights. 
Hitherto  the  question  of  the  rights  of  the  laity  had 
been  but  little  agitated  in  Carolina.  But  in  other 
parts  of  the  Union  they  were  equally  active  in  set- 
ting forth  their  claims  as  Christians,  and  demand- 
ing their  rights  to  representation  in  the  department 
of  the  church  in  which  rules  were  enacted  for 
their    government.       The    local    ministry   of    the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  39 

church,  in  many  parts  of  the  United  States,  were 
equally  alive  to  their  rights;  and  circular  letters 
were  written  and  distributed  by  the  friends  of  re- 
form, for  the  purpose  of  promoting  and  encouraging 
a  union  of  effort  among  them  in  petitioning  the 
ensuing  General  Conference  to  grant  them  the  ex- 
ercise of  their  rights,  "a  voice  in  making  the  laws" 
by  which  they  were  to  be  governed. 

Among  the  writers  that  came  forward  at  this 
stage  of  the  controversy,  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Snethen 
and  Rev.  A.  Shinn  were  prominent.  The  produc- 
tions of  these  distinguished  divines  shed  much  light 
upon  the  question  at  issue,  and  led  many  to  an 
honest  and  candid  examination  of  the  subject,  who 
had  heretofore  supposed  they  possessed  no  ecclesi- 
astical rights.  The  opponents  of  reform  were  not 
idle.  Management  and  care  were  exercised  in  the 
Annual  Conferences  in  order  to  secure  the  election 
of  such  men  as  delegates  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  1824  as  were  known  to  be  opposed  to  the 
spirit  and  design  of  reform.  Nor  were  their  labors 
unsuccessful.  Upon  the  meeting  of  the  "General 
Conference  it  was  evident  that  the  anti-reformers 
were  in  the  majority.  On  the  fourth  day  of  the 
,  session  a  motion  was  made  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  whom  should  be  referred  petitions  and  memo- 
rials from  the  laity.  The  yeas  and  nays  being 
called  for,  there  were  in  the  negative  sixty,  affirma- 
tive fifty-three,  the  vote  fairly  showing  the  spirit  of 
the  conference.  But  this  damped  not  the  courage 
of  the  friends  of  reform.     Their  course,  like  their 


40  HISTORY    OF    THE 

principles,  was  onward.  For,  says  a  distinguished 
reformer,  "although  there  was  a  small  majority  of 
the  late  General  Conference  decidedly  opposed  to 
an  equitable  church  representation,  yet  there  were 
many  who  boldly  advocated  the  measure  with  ar- 
guments so  cogent  and  language  so  eloquent  that 
in  any  other  place  and  before  any  other  judges  they 
must  have  prevailed." 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  41 


CHAPTER  II. 

Meeting  of  Reformers  in  Baltimore. — Baltimore  Union  Society 
formed. — Formation  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society; — Its  Con- 
stitution and  Circular. — Trial  and  defence  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Hill. 

Upon  the  opening  of  the  session  of  the  General 
Conference  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  on  the  1st  of 
May,  1824,  petitions  and  memorials  from  different 
places,  as  well  as  the  memorial  from  the  Roanoke 
District  Conference,  all  praying  for  a  change  in  the 
order  of  the  church  government,  were  received, 
read,  referred  and  reported  upon.  After  a  delay 
of  some  days,  the  committee  on  these  memorials 
and  petitions  reported  ;  and  it  was  finally  decided 
by  vote  that  an  answer,  in  the  form  of  a  General 
Conference  circular,  signed  by  the  bishops,  should 
be  given  to  the  petitioners. 

In  this  celebrated  circular  address  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  there  is  much  art  and  ingenuity 
resorted  to  for  the  purpose  of  evading  the  points 
directly  at  issue.  The  sophistry  used  is  alto- 
gether unworthy  the  dignity  of  so  respectable  an 
ecclesiastical  body. 

In  order  to  stave  off  the  main  questions,  and  give 
them  the  "go  by,"  they  say,  "But  if  by  'rights  and 
privileges'  it  is  intended  to  signify  something  foreign 
from  the  institutions  of  the  church,  as  we  received 
them  from  our  fathers,  pardon  us  if  we  know  no  such 

rights,  if  we  do  not  comprehend  such  privileges." 

4# 


42  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  rights  and  privileges  claimed  by  the  petitioners 
were  well  understood  by  the  members  of  that  body, 
for  they  had  been  clearly  set  forth,  and  could  appear 
to  none  in  an  ambiguous  light.  The  whole  mystery 
of  the  case  may  be  resolved  into  these  few  words, 
the  General  Conference  was  not  disposed  to  admit 
those  ''rights  and  privileges,"  and  therefore  denied 
them.  It  is  not  the  intention  or  design  of  the  writer 
to  enter  into  a  review  of  the  positions  assumed  in 
the  circular,  but  he  will  offer  a  paragraph  from  a 
review  of  the  same  by  the  Rev.  James  Smith  : 

"Therefore,  if  the  authors  of  the  circular  'know 
no  such  rights,'  it  appears  to  be  time  they  had 
looked  more  closely  into  this  question.  '  The 
institutions  of  the  church  as  we  received  them  from  our 
fathers,''  is  a  trite  and  very  convenient  topic.  It  has 
been  the  plea  of  error  in  other  churches  also.  But 
those  who  derive  their  principles  from  reason  and 
revelation  are  not  usually  in  so  great  need  of  it. 
Beside,  in  the  case  at  issue  even  that  plea,  when 
urged  as  a  ground  of  right,  is  doubtless  very  flimsy; 
for  the  ecclesiastical  polity"  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  has  been,  in  general,  a  creature  of 
change  from  the  beginning.  See  the  account  which 
Mr.  Wesley  gives  of  the  origin  of  his  power.  See, 
also,  every  history  of  Methodism  ever  published  in 
the  world." 

Again  says  the  same  writer,  "  How  imposing  is 
the  '  circular,'  but  how  illusory  the  boasted  ground  of 
constitutional  obligation  upon  the  laity,  when  fairly 
'considered!  when  fairly  exposed  !" 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  43 

Thus  far  the  efforts  of  the  friends  of  reform  in 
the  government  of  the  M.  E.  Church  had  been 
foiled ;  but  as  it  was  their  spiritual  home,  the 
church  of  their  choice,  they  were  not  disposed  to 
recede  from  the  position  they  had  taken  ;  but  trust- 
ing in  the  justice  and  rectitude  of  their  cause,  they 
resolved  to  redouble  their  efforts.  To  the  action 
of  that  General  Conference  they  had  looked  with 
deep  solicitude,  and  when  they  saw  their  claims 
and  petitions  so  ungracefully  set  aside  in  the  circu- 
lar of  the  same,  they  boldly  resolved  to  move  for- 
ward, and  their  practical  motto  seemed  to  be,  "we 
never  expect  to  revoke  our  claims." 

After  the  rise  of  the  General  Conference,  a  meet- 
ing was  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  the  21st 
of  May,  1824,  by  a  number  of  the  itinerant  and 
local  ministers  and  laymen  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  convened  for  the  purpose  of  adopt- 
ing such  measures  as  in  their  judgment  should  be 
best  calculated  to  effect  an  improvement  in  the 
government  of  the  church.  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings 
was  called  to  the  chair,  and  Francis  Waters,  D.  D., 
was  appointed  Secretary — when  the  following  reso- 
lutions were  adopted  : 

Resolved,  first,  To  institute  a  periodical  publica- 
tion, entitled  the  Mutual  Rights  of  the  Ministers 
and  Members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
to  be  conducted  by  a  committee  of  ministers  and 
laymen. 

Secondly,  To  raise  societies  in  all  parts  of  the 
United  States,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  disseminate 


44  HISTORY    OP    THE 

the  principles  of  a  well  balanced  church  govern- 
ment, and  to  correspond  with  each  other. 

Thirdly,  To  appoint  a  committee  of  their  own 
body  to  draft  a  circular  addressed  to  the  ministers 
and  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  to  forward 
the  same  forthwith  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States. 

The  following  persons  were  accordingly  ap- 
pointed on  said  committee : — Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings, 
Baltimore;  Dr.  John  French,  Norfolk;  W.Smith, 
New  York;  Gideon  Davis,  Georgetown,  D.  C; 
John  W.  Boardly  and  P.  B.  Hopper,  Esq.,  Eastern 
Shore,  Maryland.  The  committee  appointed  for 
the  purpose  issued  the  following 

Circular  addressed  to  the  Ministers  and  Members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

An  expectation  was  entertained  by  the  friends  of 
reform  attached  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  United  States,  that  the  General  Conference 
of  1S24  would  have  made  some  important  and  salu- 
tary improvement  in  the  government ;  that  the  con- 
gregated wisdom  and  experience  of  that  body  would 
have  renounced  all  pretensions  to  govern  the 
church  without  her  consent,  and  that  by  a  well- 
timed  measure  they  would  have  paved  the  way  for 
an  equitable  church  representation.  But  we  are 
sorry  to  say  that  our  hopes  have  not  been  realized, 
and  that  very  little  has  been  done  favorable  to 
these  views. 

In  consequence  of  this  disappointment,  and  with 
an  intention  to   prevent   any  evils  which   it  may 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  45 

have  a  tendency  to  produce,  it  is  thought  advisa- 
ble to  address  a  circular  to  all  the  friends  of  reform 
in  the  connection,  exhorting  them  not  to  suffer  these 
unpleasant  circumstances  to  alienate  their  affec- 
tions from  the  church,  nor  to  induce  them  to  leave 
her  communion,  but  rather  to  consider  them  as  admo- 
nitions calling  the  more  loudly  upon  all  her  friends 
to  cleave  to  her  to  the  last  extremity,  and  to  unite 
as  one  man  in  a  mutual  effort  to  obtain,  by  the  voice 
of  a  majority  of  the  ministry  and  membership,  a 
representative  form  of  church  government,  which 
shall  extend  to  the  people  as  well  as  to  the  preachers. 
This  enterprise  will  certainly  be  accelerated  by 
promoting  the  circulation  of  such  periodical  publi- 
cations as  are  of  a  respectable  and  redeeming  char- 
acter ;  and  by  raising  societies  whose  duty  it  shall 
be  to  disseminate  the  principles  of  religious  liberty, 
which  need  only  to  be  known  to  insure  their  adop- 
tion ;  each  society  appointing  a  corresponding  com- 
mittee to  communicate  its  operations  to  such  simi- 
lar institutions  as  may  be  formed  throughout  the 
United  States. 

There  can  be  no  question  as  to  the  efficiency  and 
final  result  of  these  measures.  They  must  speed- 
ily eventuate  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  neces- 
sary reform,  and  consequently  in  the  union  and 
stability  of  our  Zion.  The  effects  produced  in  the 
last  four  years  fully  justify  this  expectation,  inas- 
much as  the  late  General  Conference  was  nearly 
equally  divided,  and  that  too  notwithstanding  all 
the  opposition  to  reform ;   and  it  is  our  decided 


46  HISTORY    OF    THE 

opinion  that  if  the  elections  held  at  the  Annual 
Conferences  south  and  west  of  the  Susquehannah 
had  been  conducted  in  the  usual  manner,  without 
recourse  to  management,  the  majority  in  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  of  1824  would  have  been  of  a  very- 
different  character.  We  are  sorry  to  add,  more- 
over, that  those  ministers  who,  by  the  management 
referred  to,  were  excluded  from  seats  in  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  are  such  as  are  generally  consid- 
ered the  ablest  members  of  their  respective  Annual 
Conferences.  From  these  facts  we  may  safely  in- 
fer that  the  fallow  ground  of  the  great  work  of  im- 
provement is  already  broken  up,  and  that  at  the 
next  General  Conference  we  may  expect  to  realize 
our  hopes. 

Besides,  in  almost  every  section  of  this  vastly 
extended  community  there  are  enlightened  and 
pious  men  who  are  ready  to  put  their  shoulders  to 
the  work,  so  that  the  efforts  which  we  are  now 
about  to  make  will  be  extensive  and  simultaneous, 
and  well  calculated  to  effect  a  reformation  without 
endangering  the  unity  of  the  body.  We  shall  move 
forward  hand  in  hand,  whilst  hundreds  of  the  most 
important  men  belonging  to  the  itinerancy  bid  us 
God  speed,  waiting  only  to  hear  the  voice  of  the 
people,  and  they  will  co-operate  with  us. 

Attempts  have  been  made  to  alarm  the  ignorant 
with  fears  lest  a  reformation  should  darken  the 
prospect  of  itinerant  ministers  and  drive  them  from 
the  work.  Upon  this  subject  the  feelings  of  Meth- 
odists are  one — all  unite  in  one  common  purpose 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  47 

to  perpetuate  and  support  the  itinerant  ministry. 
Their  rights  and  ours  are  mutual,  and  we,  the  com- 
mittee selected  by  our  brethren  for  the  purpose  of 
sending  forth  this  circular,  call  upon  every  depart- 
ment of  our  community  to  unite  with  us  in  assert- 
ing and  defending  the  mutual  rights  of  the  ministers 
and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
S.  K.  Jennings,  Chairman. 
John  French,  Secretary. 

At  the  same  time  the  Baltimore  Union  Society 
was  formed,  which  adopted  the  following 

CONSTITUTION. 

Whereas  in  all  equitable  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ments it  is  an  acknowledged  principle  that  each 
member  of  the  community  should  be  secured  in  his 
rights  as  a  Christian  believer,  one  of  which  is  a 
participation  in  the  enactment  of  such  rules  and 
regulations  as  are  necessary  to  preserve  the  purity, 
peace  and  prosperity  of  the  body,  either  personally 
or  by  his  representative ;  and,  whereas  the  govern- 
ment of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  is  so  or- 
ganized as  to  give  to  the  traveling  preachers  the 
sole  power  "to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  our 
church,"  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  the  local  preach- 
ers and  the  whole  body  of  the  people  ;  and,  where- 
as a  large  number  of  the  itinerant  and  local 
preachers  and  of  the  laity  desire  to  have  the  govern- 
ment of  our  church  so  altered  as  to  extend  repre- 
sentation to  the  excluded  ministers  and  to  the  lay 
members,  it  is  therefore  deemed  proper,  in  order  to 


48  HISTORY    OP    THE 

ascertain  the  number  of  persons  in  the  Methodist 
Church  who  are  friendly  to  such  alteration,  to  raise 
societies  in  all  parts  of  these  United  States,  to  cor- 
respond with  each  other  on  such  subjects  as  they 
may  believe  calculated  to  improve  our  church  poli- 
ty; therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we,  the  undersigned  members  of 
the  Methodist  Church  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  do 
form  ourselves  into  a  Union  Society  for  the  above 
named  purposes,  and  do  agree  to  be  governed  by 
the  following  Constitution : 

Article  1.  This  society  shall  be  denominated, 
the  Union  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore. 

Art.  2.  The  officers  of  this  society  shall  consist 
of  a  President,  two  Vice  Presidents,  a  Treasurer, 
a  Secretary,  a  Corresponding  Committee  of  three 
members,  an  Editorial  Committee  of  four  ministers 
and  four  laymen,  all  of  whom  shall  be  elected  an- 
nually by  ballot. 

Art.  3.  The  President,  or  in  his  absence,  one  of 
the  Vice  Presidents,  or  in  the  absence  of  all  three, 
a  President  pro  tern,  shall  preside  at  every  meeting 
of  the  society;  and  every  meeting  shall  be  opened 
and  closed  with  prayer. 

Art.  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Treasurer  to 
receive  and  hold  the  funds  of  the  society,  subject  to 
its  directions,  and  to  render  annually  a  statement  of 
receipts  and  disbursements,  and  faithfully  to  deliver 
over  to  his  successor  in  office  all  the  funds,  books, 
papers  and  effects  of  this  society  in  his  possession. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


49 


Art.  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretary  to 
keep  a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the  society, 
and  perform  such  other  services  as  the  society  may 
require. 

Art.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Corresponding 
Committee  to  keep  a  record  of  all  similar  societies 
of  which  they  gain  information,  their  location  and 
numbers ;  to  correspond  with  them  from  time  to 
time  as  occasion  may  require ;  and  to  lay  before 
the  society  at  its  meetings  all  information  in  their 
possession. 

Art.  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Editorial 
Committee  to  inspect  all  original  and  selected  matter 
that  maybe  presented  for  publication  in  the  "Mutual 
Rights,"  and  to  suffer  no  matter  to  be  published  in 
that  work  until  it  shall  have  received  the  approba- 
tion of  a  majority  of  said  committee ;  to  employ  a 
person  to  print  the  necessary  number  of  copies  of 
forty  octavo  pages  each  per  month;  to  solicit  sub- 
scribers and  patrons  for  the  publication;  and  gene- 
rally to  do  all  matters  and  things  which,  in  their 
opinion,  are  calculated  to  promote  the  circulation 
and  usefulness  of  the  work. 

Art.  8.  An  annual  meeting  of  the  society  shall 
be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  July  in  each  year, 
and  after  having  transacted  such  business  as  may 
be  submitted  for  their  consideration,  shall  proceed 
to  elect  their  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  On 
the  election  of  the  Editorial  Committee,  every  mem- 
ber of  a  similar  society  in  any  other  place,  and 
any  brother  from  a  distance,  known  to  be  friendly 
5 


50  HISTORY    OF    THE 

to  reform,  shall,  if  present,  be  entitled  to  a  vote  in 
the  same  manner  as  any  member  residing  in 
Baltimore. 

Art.  9.  A  monthly  meeting  of  the  society  shall 
be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  each  month. 

Art.  10.  Any  member  of  the  Methodist  Church 
may  become  a  member  of  this  Society  by  a  vote 
of  the  same,  and  by  signing  the  Constitution ;  and  it 
is  expected  of  every  person  wishing  to  withdraw 
from  the  association  to  signify  his  desire  to  the 
Secretary. 

Art.  11.  This  Constitution  may  be  altered  or 
amended  at  any  regular  meeting  by  a  majority  of 
two-thirds  of  the  members  present,  provided  such 
alteration  shall  have  been  proposed  at  a  previous 
meeting. 

The  position  taken  by  the  Baltimore  brethren 
was  one  that  inspired  courage  in  every  quarter 
among  the  friends  of  reform.  Their  association 
they  denominated  a  "Union  Society,"  we  presume 
from  the  fact  that  it  was  a  union  of  effort  by  the 
ministry  and  laity.  The  periodical  issued  by  them 
for  similar  reasons  was  called  the  "Mutual  Rights." 
The  Editorial  Committee  entrusted  with  the  publi- 
cation of  the  "Mutual  Rights"  entered  upon  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  assigned  them  with  the  follow- 
ing address:  # 

EDITORIAL   ADDRESS. 

It  will  be  expected  of  the  Editorial  Committee, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  arduous  and  responsi- 
ble duty  assigned  to  them  by  their  brethren,  to  give 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  51 

some  account  of  the  motives  which  have  influenced 
them  to  accept  the  appointment;  and  of  the  princi- 
ples by  which  they  are  to  be  governed  in  the  publi- 
cation of  the  "Mutual  Rights."  "With  a  view, 
therefore,  to  gratify  this  reasonable  expectation,  the 
committee  take  occasion  to  assure  their  readers  that 
the  paramount  consideration  which  has  induced 
them  to  embark  in  this  service  is  a  settled  con- 
viction that  an  acknowledgment  of  the  rights  of 
each  department  in  the  church  is  essential  to  the 
well  being  of  the  whole  ;  and  that  the  future  pros- 
perity of  Methodism  in  these  United  States  mate- 
rially depends  on  such  a  modification  of  our  church 
government  as  shall  put  every  Methodist  in  full 
possession  of  his  rights  and  privileges  as  a  Chris- 
tian believer. 

As  individuals  they  have  long  deplored  the  un- 
scriptural  and  injudicious  monopoly  of  power  that 
has  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  itinerant  ministry 
alone  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church ;  and  after  a  careful  investigation  of  its 
nature  and  tendencies,  taking  into  view  the  en- 
lightened state  of  society  in  this  country,  they  are 
persuaded  that  nothing  less  than  an  improved  gov- 
ernment, which  will  secure  representation  to  the 
ivhole  church,  and  a  mutual  participation  in  all  her 
concerns,  will  produce  tranquillity.  It  will  be  ob- 
vious then  to  every  reader  that  the  motives  which 
have  influenced  the  committee  are  neither  sordid  nor 
selfish,  but  liberal  and  disinterested,  and  that  the 
principles  by  which  they  intend  to  be  governed  in 


52  HISTORY    OF    THE 

editing  the  contemplated  work  are  the  mutual 
rights  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  our  church. 
The  chief  object  of  the  publication  is  to  realize  to 
the  church  a  practical  understanding  of  the  title  it 
assumes.  This  can  be  done  only  through  the  medium 
of  a  free  press. 

The  committee  are  confident  that  if  the  Method- 
ist people  have  a  suitable  opportunity  to  compare 
the  arguments  adduced  on  both  sides  of  the  great 
question  of  reform,  permanent  harmony  may  be 
established  among  them.  Without  this  they  axe 
equally  confident  that  the  difference  of  sentiment 
which  now  so  extensively  prevails  will  accelerate 
an  equally  extensive  alienation  of  affection,  and 
ultimately  terminate  in  great  and  ruinous  seces- 
sions from  the  church.  That  the  Methodist  Church 
is  in  a  state  of  agitation  is  a  well  known  fact ;  and 
such  a  state  of  things  calls  loudly  upon  every  friend 
of  religion  to  inquire  into  the  causes  which  produce 
it,  and  to  labor  for  the  restoration  of  harmony  and 
the  preservation  of  brotherly  love.  To  be  pre- 
pared, however,  to  perform  a  becoming  part  in  this 
important  work,  it  is  necessary  to  enter  upon  a  calm 
and  dispassionate  consideration  of  the  subjects  in 
dispute.  Modest  men  will  feel  no  difficulty  in  ad- 
mitting the  truth  of  this  position ;  for  it  is  impossi- 
ble for  any  man  wisely  to  estimate  his  own  opin- 
ions when  they  differ  from  those  of  other  men,  until 
he  shall  have  first  subjected  them  to  a  respectful 
and  scrutinous  comparison  with  the  opinions  of 
those  who  think  differently. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  53 

To  the  doctrines  of  religion  as  taught  by  Wesley 
and  Fletcher,  and  as  embodied  in  the  Discipline  of 
our  church,  the  committee  fully  subscribe.  The 
services  of  the  church,  such  as  extemporaneous 
prayer  and  preaching,  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  sup- 
per, baptism,  love-feasts,  band-meeting  and  class- 
meeting,  have  their  entire  approbation.  Class- 
meeting,  particularly,  in  the  opinion  of  the  commit- 
tee, is  the  great  means,  next  to  the  gospel  itself,  by 
which  spirituality  and  order  are  to  be  perpetuated 
among  our  people.  Upon  this  subject  they  must 
be  permitted  to  say  they  have  been  trained  so  long 
under  these  doctrines  and  services  that  they  feel 
for  them  all  those  attachments  so  natural  to  men  in 
similar  circumstances.  And  in  fact  it  is  because 
of  these  and  the  spirituality  of  the  ministry  and 
membership  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
that  they  adhere  so  firmly  to  her  communion. 

It  is  not  in  the  power  of  the  committee  at  present 
to  give  exact  information  of  every  thing  which  the 
publication  will"  contain.  A  periodical  miscellany 
admits  of  a  variety  of  subjects,  and  when  continued 
for  a  length  of  time  receives  many  communications 
unknown  to  the  editors  at  the  commencement  of  the 
work.  It  may  be  said,  however,  in  general  terms, 
the  "Mutual  Rights"  will  contain  essays  on  church 
government,  biographical  sketches  of  eminent  and 
pious  persons,  lectures  on  divinity  and  practical 
Christianity,  interesting  narratives,  philosophical  in- 
vestigations, and  a  variety  of  other  matter,  both 
amusing  and  instructive.  Well  written  communi- 
■     5* 


54  HISTORY    OF    THE 

cations  on  any  of  the  above  subjects  will  be  thank- 
fully received,  and  the  utmost  impartiality  observed 
by  the  committee. 

S.  K.  Jennings,  Chairman. 

The  writers  who  contributed  to  the  columns  of 
the  "Mutual  Rights"  were  ministers  and  members 
of  the  highest  standing  and  ability.  Distinguished 
for  their  talent,  their  learning,  and  their  usefulness, 
they  were  well  acquainted  with  the  history  as  well 
as  with  the  defects  of  the  government  of  the  M.  E. 
Church ;  their  essays  upon  church  polity  being 
clear,  logical  and  scriptural,  justly  commended 
themselves  to  the  consideration  of  every  candid 
and  unprejudiced  member  of  the  Methodist  com- 
munion. They  were  men  whose  very  names  exer- 
cised a  salutary  influence  in  favor  of  the  cause 
which  they  advocated.  Of  these  men  a  Snethen 
and  a  French  have  gone  to  their  reward,  but  their 
names  yet  live  embalmed  in  the  memory  of  the 
virtuous  and  the  good  who  knew  them ;  and  to  the 
lives  and  acts  of  their  compeers  who  survive  them 
we  trust  that  history  will  not  be  slow  to  do  am- 
ple justice.  And  strange  as  it  may  appear,  yet 
such  is  the  melancholy  fact,  that  these  men  who 
were  "burning  and  shining  lights,"  as  well  as  an 
ornament  and  an  honor  to  the  church  to  which  they 
belonged,  were  traduced  by  many  of  their  brethren 
that  differed  with  them  in  opinion  upon  church 
polity;  their  motives  were  aspersed,  and  their 
names  to  all  intents  and  purposes  cast  out  as  evil. 
All  this  was  done,  not  for  immorality,  not  for  any 


METHODIST  PROTESTANT  CHURCH.       55 

violation  of  the  law  of  God,  but  for  an  honest  dif- 
ference of  opinion  with  regard  to  expediency  con- 
cerning church  polity.  The  powers  that  be  in  the 
M.  E.  Church  had  become  offended,  therefore  per- 
secution raged.  "Several  of  the  anti-reformers 
availed  themselves  of  the  freedom  of  the  columns 
of  the  'Mutual  Rights,'  and  wrote  essays  in  vindi- 
cation of  the  Methodist  government,  as  being  of 
divine  origin,  and  the  only  legitimate  church  gov- 
ernment on  earth,  and  represented  the  reformers  as 
'backsliders,'  'under  the  influence  of  base  motives,' 
'enemies  of  Methodism,'  'opposers  of  God,'  'insti- 
gated by  the  devil,'  &c.  &c.  Indeed  this  kind  of 
abusive  matter  and  'mere  declamation  from  anti- 
reformers,  accumulated  to  such  a  degree  that  the 
Editorial  Committee  of  the  second  volume  were 
under  the  necessity  of  restricting  those  writers  to 
argument  alone."* 

The  pious  reader  might  ask  what  had  become  of 
that  religion  which  is  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad 
in  the  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  of  that  charity 
which  beareth  all  things,  believeth  all  things,  hopeth 
all  things,  endureth  all  things  ?  But  this  is  a  ques- 
tion which  must  be  left  for  decision  to  the  Judge  of 
all  the  earth.  How  strange  is  such  conduct  when 
compared  with  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  which  is 
peace !  How  painful,  too,  to  the  feelings  of  the 
reformers  to  receive  such  treatment  from  Christian 
brethren,  principally  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and 
that  for  opinion's  sake  alone. 

*  See  history  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  by  Rev.  J.  R. 
Williams,  page  129. 


56  HISTORY    OP    THE 

A  distinguished  reformer  in  North  Carolina, 
whilst  his  spirit  was  weighed  down  by  the  un- 
christian course  pursued  towards  him  by  men  pro- 
fessing Christianity,  expressed  himself  to  a  friend 
thus  :  "Brother  Speight,  if  it  were  not  for  the  feel- 
ings of  my  heart  I  would  be  an  infidel." 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1S24  the  friends 
of  reform,  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States, 
followed  the  example  set  them  by  the  brethren  at 
Baltimore,  and  having  the  same  objects  in  view, 
formed  themselves  into  Union  Societies.  After  the 
organization  of  the  Union  Society  at  Baltimore,  and 
the  appeals  and  addresses  of  the  same  were  circu- 
lated throughout  the  country,  the  question,  of  reform 
not  only  received  a  new  impulse  in  North  Carolina, 
but  to  a  certain  degree  changed  its  aspect.  The 
laity  now  came  forward  with  their  brethren  of  the 
local  ministry,  claiming  their  right  to  be  heard, 
through  representation,  in  the  rule-making  depart- 
ment of  the  church.  Truth  had  been  disseminated. 
The  light  had  shined  ;  and  by  the  exercise  of  "pri- 
vate judgment"  they  were  now  brought  into  action, 
and  made  common  cause  with  the  ministry  to  ef- 
fect a  just  reformation  in  the  government  of  the 
church  to  which  they  belonged. 

At  a  meeting  of  a  number  of  local  ministers  and 
laymen  of  Roanoke  Circuit,  held  at  Sampson's 
meeting-house,  Halifax  county,  North  Carolina,  on 
the  6th  day  of  November,  1 824,  it  was  moved  that 
the  Rev.  C.  H.  Hines  open  the  meeting  by  prayer; 
after  which  the  aged  and  venerable  patriot  of  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  57 

American  revolution,  the  Rev.  William  Price,  was 
chosen  chairman,  and  Levi  H.  McLean  secretary. 

The  object  of  the  meeting  being  explained,  and 
the  names  of  those  recorded  who  were  in  favor  of 
forming  a  "Union  Society,"  on  the  same  principles 
of  one  lately  established  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
the  society  proceeded  to  elect  its  officers ;  where- 
upon the  Rev.  E.  B.  Whitaker  was  elected  presi- 
dent, and  Exum  Lewis  vice  president ;  the  Rev. 
Richard  Davidson,  Rev.  Henry  Hardy,  and  Rev. 
William  Bellamy  were  appointed  a  corresponding 
committee;  the  Rev.  James  Hunter,  the  Rev.  C.  H. 
Hines,  and  Levi  H.  McLean  a  committee  to  draft  a 
Constitution  for  the  government  of  the  society,  to 
be  presented  at  its  next  meeting ;  also  to  write  an 
address  to  the  societies  in  the  circuit,  explanatory 
of  the  objects  this  society  has  in  view. 

The  names  of  the  persons  who  joined  the  Union 
Society  at  this  time  were, 

Ministers  —  Rev.  Wm.  Price,  Rev.  Miles  Smith, 
Rev.  Wm.  Bellamy,  Rev.  Jas.  Hunter,  Rev.  C.  H. 
Hines,  Rev.  E.  B.  Whitaker,  Rev.  Albriton  Jones. 

Laymen — William  E.  Bellamy,  David  Morris, 
Thomas  King,  Levi  H.  McLe:^. 

The  society  appointed  its  next  meeting  to  be 
held  on  the  4th  Saturday  in  the  same  month,  No- 
vember, at  Bradford's  meeting-house,  and  then 
adjourned. 

Upon  its  meeting  again  at  the  time  and  place  ap- 
pointed, the  following  persons  united  with  the  soci- 
ety, viz :  Rev.  Henry  Bradford,  John  F.  Bellamy, 


58  HISTORY    OF    THE 

L.  H.  B.  Whitaker,  Absalom  B.  Whitaker,  Henry 
B.  Bradford,  Spier  W.  Coffield,  Lansford  W.  Scott, 
P.  B.  Wiley,  Benjamin  Hunter,  E.  B.  Whitaker,  jr., 
and  Thomas  Lowe. 

The  Constitution,  as  drafted  by  the  committee 
appointed  at  the  preceding  meeting,  was  presented 
and  read,  and  after  each  article  had  been  discussed, 
it  was  adopted  in  its  present  form. 

CONSTITUTION  OF  ROANOKE  UNION  SOCIETY. 

Man  in  his  primeval  state  was  the  noblest  work 
of  God  on  this  habitable  globe.  Although  sin  has 
entered  into  the  world,  and  its  deathlike  effects 
have  passed  on  all,  yet  many  vestiges  of  the  noble 
dignity  of  man  remain,  showing  his  superiority  to 
all  other  creatures.  On  man  is  still  placed  the 
image  of  his  Creator  in  some  degree,  and  to  him 
the  guardian  care  of  his  God  is  shown.  When  it 
became  necessary  that  the  human  family  should  be 
controlled  by  a  code  of  laws,  we  immediately  real- 
ize the  condescending  goodness  of  an  all-wise  Cre- 
ator, in  furnishing  them  with  such  as  were  most 
conducive  to  order  and  happiness.  And  when  an 
individual  or  set  of  men  are  placed  as  rulers  over 
the  multitude,  it  is  in  regard  to  their  capacity  and 
virtue.  When  the  Israelites,  in  plain  deviation 
from  these  just  principles,  exclaimed,  "We  will 
have  a  king,"  the  Lord  Jehovah  showed  them  that 
the  very  inclination  and  consent  of  mind  to  such  a 
course  was  Fraught  with  calamitous  events  to  them 
and  their  children  after  them.     The  whole  subject 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


59 


evinces  to  man  that  with  his  Creator  there  is  no 
respect  of  persons.  For  when  the  great  Redeemer 
unfolded  to  man  the  grand  scheme  of  his  redemp- 
tion, such  was  at  once  the  conviction  of  its  univer- 
sality that  it  was  often  called  the  common  salvation. 
And  when  a  serious  controversy  had  arisen,  as  re- 
corded in  the  15th  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, relative  to  the  laws  of  its  administration,  we 
have  explicitly  the  voice  of  the  apostles  and  elders 
and  brethren  on  the  subject.  It  is  evident  that  our 
Saviour  inculcated  the  same  principles  when  he 
said  to  his  disciples,  "One  is  your  master,  even 
Christ,  and  all  ye  are  brethren." 

From  an  impartial  view  of  these  just,  equal  and 
scriptural  principles,  the  inference  seems  to  be  irre- 
sistible that  all  men  by  nature  are  equal,  and  that 
none  have  a  right  to  assume  control  but  by  the 
voice  of  general  consent ;  and  as  the  rules  and 
regulations  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  place 
the  sole  governing  power  in  the  hands  of  our  itin- 
erant brethren,  who  have  enacted  laws  for  our  gov- 
ernment without  our  consent,  that  infringe  upon  our 
civil  privileges,  while  there  remains  to  us  no  re- 
dress— we,  therefore,  deem  it  indispensable  that  the 
whole  matter  should  be  carefully  and  impartially  ex- 
amined; and  that  the  peace  and  prosperity  of  Zion 
depend  greatly  upon  the  forming  of  Union  Societies 
among  us ;  and  as  our  respected  brethren  of  Balti- 
more have  set  us  an  example  at  once  so  laudable 
and  necessary,  we  resolve,  in  imitation  of  them,  to 
adopt  the  following  articles  and  regulations  for  the 


60  HISTORY    OF    THE 

government  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society,  auxili- 
ary to  the  Union  Society  of  Baltimore: 

Article  1.  This  society  shall  be  composed  of 
the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
this  circuit,  together  with  others  of  other  circuits 
who  wish  to  become  members  here. 

Art.  2.  This  society  shall  be  governed  by  a 
President  and  Vice  President,  who  shall  be  chosen 
annually  by  ballot. 

Art.  3.  There  shall  be  a  Secretary,  and  also  a 
Corresponding  Committee  consisting  of  five  mem- 
bers, chosen  annually  by  nomination  and  election. 

Art.  4.  This  society  shall  meet  once  in  six  or 
twelve  months,  or  oftener,  if  thought  necessary,  ac- 
cording to  its  determination,  at  such  place  as  shall 
be  fixed  on. 

Art.  5.  This  society  shall  elect  a  Treasurer, 
who  shall  hold  the  funds  of  the  society,  subject  to 
its  call. 

Art.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  each  member  of 
the  society  to  pay  an  annual  subscription  of  from 
twenty-five  cents  to  one  dollar,  which  money  shall 
first  defray  the  expenses  of  said  society,  and  if  any 
surplus,  shall  be  appropriated  to  the  publishing  of 
tracts  or  pamphlets  explanatory  of  the  views  and 
aims  of  the  society,  and  for  other  useful  purposes? 
tending  to  the  extension  of  light  and  information. 

Art.  7.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Corresponding 
Committee  to  keep  up  a  regular  correspondence 
with  the  society  at  Baltimore,  and  with  other  socie-  • 
ties  or  individuals,  as  this  society  may  direct. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  61 

Art.  8.  At  each  meeting  of  the  society  the  Cor- 
responding Committee  shall  lay  before  it  the  sub- 
stance of  all  their  communications,  and  the  answers 
respectively  received. 

Art.  9.  This  Constitution  shall  be  subject  to 
such  amendments  and  additions,  annually,  as  a 
majority  of  two-thirds  of  the  society  shall  judge  to 
be  expedient. 

Eli  B.  Whitaker,  President. 
James  Hunter,  Secretary  pro  tern. 
L.  H.  B.  Whitaker  was  elected  treasurer  and 
William  E.  Bellamy  secretary ;  Rev.  William  Bel- 
lamy, Rev.  R.  Davidson,  Dr.  John  F.  Bellamy,  Ab- 
salom B.  Whitaker  and  Philip  B.  Wiley  were  ap- 
pointed a  committee  of  correspondence ;  Rev.  Wm. 
Bellamy,  Rev.  C   H.  Hines  and  Dr.  J.  F.  Bellamy 
a  committee  to  draft  rules  to  govern  the  meetings  of 
the  society. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  society  was  appointed 
to  be  held  at  Bradford's  chapel  on  the  first  Satur- 
day in  May,  1825. 

The  society  met  at  Bradford's  chapel  on  the  30th 
of  April  instead  of  the  first  Saturday  in  May.  After 
the  journal  of  the  last  meeting  had  been  read,  a 
door  was  opened  for  the  admission  of  such  persons 
as  wished  to  join  the  Union  Society,  when  the  fol- 
lowing brethren  were  received,  viz  :  Rev.  William 
W.  Hill,  of  Matamuskeet  circuit,  Rev.  Miles  Nash, 
of  Roanoke,  James  Whitaker,  sr.,  and  Richard  H. 
Whitaker.  The  committee  of  correspondence  re- 
ported no  correspondence  since  the  last  meeting. 
6 


62  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  Rev.  W.  Bellamy,  Exum  Lewis  and  Dr.  J.  F. 
Bellamy  were  appointed  an  editorial  committee  to 
publish  such  pieces  for  this  society  as  they  may 
think  will  tend  to  promote  a  reformation  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  or  promulgate  the 
wishes  and  views  of  this  society  for  that  purpose. 
The  Rev.  James  Hunter  was  appointed  an  agent 
to  superintend  the  printing  of  all  such  documents, 
and  authorized  to  apply  to  the  treasurer  for  money 
to  defray  the  expenses  thereof,  as  the  Constitution 
directs. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  society  was  appointed 
to  be  held  at  Bradford's  chapel,  on  the  14th  Octo- 
ber, 1825.  The  meeting  closed  in  the  usual  form 
with  prayer. 

The  fourth  meeting,  which  was  the  second  an- 
nual meeting  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society,  took 
place  at  Bradford's,  pursuant  to  appointment,  Octo- 
ber 14th.  At  this  meeting  the  following  brethren 
united  with  the  society,  viz:  Richard  Baxter,  Spier 
Whitaker,  James  Brent,  Wilson  C.  Whitaker,  Jesse 
H.  Simmons,  Richard  H.  Whitaker,  Henry  Dog- 
gett,  David  Barrow,  Burrows  Carter,  and  Rev. 
Caswell  Drake.  At  this  meeting  the  society  num- 
bered thirty-nine  members.  The  doctrines  of  Mu- 
tual Rights  had,  through  the  agency  and  influence 
of  the  reformers,  spread  considerably  in  Carolina. 
The  circulars  and  addresses  of  the  committee  of 
correspondence  effected  much  good  in  enlisting  the 
members  of  the  Methodist  communion  in  the  com- 
mon cause.     In  order  that  the  tenor  of  the  doc- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


63 


trines  which  they  laid  down,  and  the  propositions 
set  forth  in  their  addresses,  may  be  fairly  under- 
stood, the  first  circular  of  the  society  is  here 
introduced. 

Circular  to  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Church  in 
Roanoke  District. 

Dear  Brethren, — Your  attention  is  respectfully 
invited  to  a  momentous  question,  which  is  at  pres- 
ent and  has  been  for  several  years  greatly  agitated 
and  freely  discussed  among  politicians  in  church 
and  state,  both  in  the  old  and  new  world.  This 
question  involves  at  once  the  very  principles  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  and  equality.  In  an 
early  period  of  our  history  such  a  thing  as  free  dis- 
cussion was  not  agitated  till  the  dawn  of  the  Ameri- 
can revolution  ;  and  even  at  that  period  we  find 
that  this  discussion  was  peculiarly  confined  to 
political  matters.  But  in  times  of  more  recent  date 
light  has  gone  forth,  a  spirit  of  free  inquiry  has  been 
promoted  to  great  and  important  lengths,  which,  in 
the  estimation  of  hundreds,  and  perhaps  of  thou- 
sands, has  resulted  in  the  conviction  that  our  church 
polity  is  not  of  the  most  equitable  and  judicious 
cast ;  and  an  ardent  solicitude  is  now  felt  and  dis- 
played, in  different  sections  of  the  country,  for  the 
modification  of  our  system  of  church  government, 
so  far  as  to  admit  amongst  us  a  general  equality  on 
the  representative  principle. 

On  this  subject  the  General  Conference  has  been 
addressed    in  vain.      The    only  alternative    is    an 


64 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


appeal  to  you  to  unite  firmly  and  piously  in  an 
examination  of  the  subject. 

To  this  end  your  brethren  have  met,  have 
formed  a  society,  and  have  appointed  proper  offi- 
cers and  committees  for  the  management  of  the 
society  and  for  general  correspondence.  A  Con- 
stitution for  said  society  will  be  drafted  forthwith, 
and  be  ratified  at  a  meeting  appointed  to  be  held  at 
Bradford's  meeting-house  on  the  fourth  Saturday  in 
this  month. 

It  becomes  our  duty,  dear  brethren,  thus  to  ap- 
prise you,  and  to  urge  you  by  all  the  endearing  ties 
of  social  concord  to  meet  us  there.  We  ardently 
wish  you  to  take  the  subject  into  serious  considera- 
tion. The  great  design  is  the  promotion  of  truth 
in  the  accomplishment  of  the  noble  object  above 
stated.  Should  there,  however,  be  with  any  a  sen- 
timent and  feeling  opposed  to  these  measures,  the 
subject  is  open  for  free  and  charitable  discussion. 
This  may  lead  to  a  fair  understanding,  and  to  a 
union  of  soul  that  will  promote  Zion's  prosperity. 
You  will  understand  that  no  intention  exists  to 
split  or  divide  the  church,  but  to  form  a  Union 
Society  for  the  purpose  of  communicating  freely 
with  one  another,  and  thereby  to  diffuse  light  and 
knowledge  relative  to  the  nature  and  general  bear- 
ing of  our  church  polity. 

We  are  aware  that  many  say  that  the  socie- 
ties are  not  dissatisfied.  This  can  only  be  known 
fairly  by  acquainting  ourselves  with  the  subject. 
Many  who  have  examined  the  matter  are  convinced 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  65 

that  great  and  important  alterations  can  be  made 
for  the  better ;  and  it  is  confidently  believed  that 
the  sooner  these  can  be  effected  the  better  it  will 
be.     We  are  sure  that  the  time  has  arrived  when 
the  attempt   ought   to   be  made.      We,  therefore, 
firmly  rely  on  your  co-operation,  and  remain 
Yours,  in  the  bonds  of  friendship, 
James  Hunter,  \ 
C.  H.  Hines,        >  Committee. 
L.  H.  McLean,  ) 
The  spirit  of  this  address  is  such  as  the  occasion 
alone  called  for.     It  abounds  in  no  idle  declama- 
tion, but  calmly  and  dispassionately  sets  forth  the 
object  and  views  of  the  reformers.      They  most 
plainly  declare  that  "the  object  is  not  to  split  or 
divide  the  church,  but  to  form  a  Union  Society,  for 
the  purpose  of  communicating  freely  with  one  an- 
other, and  thereby  to  diffuse  light  and  knowledge" 
upon    church   polity.      But   the    exercise   of  such 
liberty  gave  offence   to  the  advocates   of  itinerant 
prerogative,  and    menaces,  rebuke   and  opposition 
were   soon  exhibited    by  the  traveling  preachers. 
The  itinerant  ministers  could  talk  most  loudly  upon 
the  principles  of  church'  government,  and  in  their 
General  and  Annual  Conferences  could  feel  at  lib- 
erty to  use  the  keenest  invectives   against  princi- 
ples and  denounce  in  the  most  unmeasured  terms 
measures  not  agreeable  to  their  judgment  or  views 
of  sound  policy,  and  none  dare  to  say,  why  speak- 
est  thou  thus?     Possessed  of  this  right  of  "free 
discussion"  and  of  "private  judgment,"  they  con- 
6* 


66  HISTORY    OF    THE 

sidered  it  their  right  alone,  and  were  quite  unwill- 
ing to  accord  the  same  right  to  their  brethren  of  the 
local  ministry  and  laity.      Nor  had  the  two  last 
named  classes  ever  learned  that  they  were  not  per- 
mitted to  inquire  into  the  nature  of  the  government 
of  the  church,  or  express  their  sentiments  freely  con- 
cerning its   polity;    but   they  supposed   that  such 
rights  would  be  conceded  to  them  on  all  sides;  but 
the  sequel  proves  they  were  sadly  mistaken.     At 
the  meeting  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  in  April, 
1825,  the  Rev.  William  W.  Hill,  of  Matamuskeet 
circuit,  was  received  as  a  member.     Brother  Hill 
had  been  a  minister  for  several  years  in  the  Meth- 
odist Church,  had  rendered  her  much  service  as  an 
itinerant ;  his  zeal,  learning,  talents  and  eloquence 
had  placed  him  amongst  the  most  distinguished  of 
her  ministry;  and  although  he   had  now  become 
local,  yet  his  love  for  the  church  of  his  choice  was 
still  warm,  the  lively  interest  he  felt  in  her  pros- 
perity was  the  same  it  ever  had  been ;  and  in  be- 
coming a  member  of  the  Union  Society  his  object 
was  to  do  her  good,  and  not  harm.     He  was  well 
acquainted  with  her  ecclesiastical  polity,  had  closely 
observed  it  in  all  its  bearings  and  relations,  and 
was  well  aware   that  it  was  susceptible  of  much 
improvement.     Knowing  the  local  ministry  and  the 
laity   to   be   without   any   representation    or   voice 
whatever   in   the    rule-making  department   of  the 
church,  as  an  impartial   and   candid  Christian,  he 
could   but  conceive  that  their  rights  were  unjustly 
withheld  from  them;  and  as  an  American  citizen 


METHODIST    FROTESTANT    CHURCH.  67 

and  a  patriot,  he  could  not  understand  that  he  was 
violating  any  obligation,  either  civil  or  religious,  in 
freely  discussing  this  subject  with  his  Christian 
brethren.  This  gave  offence  to  "the  powers  that 
be"  in  the  itinerancy;  and  brother  Hill,  before  the 
meeting  of  the  Union  Society  in  November,  and  ere 
he  had  been  enrolled  as  a  member  six  months,  had 
become  the  first  object  of  itinerant  persecution  in 
Carolina.  In  the  month  of  August  he  was  sum- 
moned to  trial  by  Rev.  Benjamin  Edge,  assistant 
preacher  on  Matamuskeet  circuit,  and  fairly  acquit- 
ted of  the  charges.  Brother  Hill  forwarded  an  ac- 
count of  the  whole  transaction  to  the  Union  Society, 
and  the  editorial  committee  published  and  circu- 
lated the  same  under  the  title  of 

A    STROKE    AT    THE    ROOT,    &c. 

To  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States. 

Dear  Brethren, — The  editorial  committee  of 
the  Roanoke  Union  Society  take  the  liberty  re- 
spectfully to  lay  before  yon  the  following  docu- 
ments, transmitted  to  us  by  our  worthy  brother 
Hill,  a  local  preacher  in  our  church  and  a  member 
of  our  Union  Society.  We  regret  that  any  of  our 
church  rulers  should  so  misunderstand  that  rule  in 
our  church  discipline  which  forbids  the  members 
of  our  church  "endeavoring  to  sow  dissensions  in 
any  of  our  societies,  by  inveighing  against  either 
our  doctrine  or  discipline,"  as  to  think  that  it  can 
with  any  propriety  be  applied  to  Mr.  Hill  or  any 


6S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

other  reformer,  whether  he  be  of  the  clergy  or  laitv, 
while  merely  contending  for  the  right  of  suffrage. 

We  have  no  rule  in  our  book  of  "discipline"  to 
justify  the  conduct  of  Mr.  Edge  as  displayed  in 
these  documents.  It  is,  therefore,  a  manifest  abuse 
of  power,  and  proves  the  necessity  of  the  reforma- 
tion for  which  Mr.  Hill  and  the  reformers  are  now 
contending. 

We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  the  conduct  of 
Mr.  Hill  and  the  reformers,  in  contending  for  the 
right  of  suffrage,  cannot  be  punished  by  the  rules  in 
our  church  without  the  aid  of  an  expost  facto  law. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev.  William  W.  Hill  to  E. 
Lewis,  Esq. 

August  9,  1825. 
Brother  Lewis: 

With  this  you  will  receive  the  history  of  an 
encounter  which  I  have  just  sustained  with  Ben- 
jamin Edge,  assistant  preacher  of  this  circuit.  His 
death-warrant,  which  you  will  find  among  the  pa- 
pers in  its  original  form,  reached  me  about  dusk  in 
the  evening  of  the  5th  of  this  month.  It  ordered 
me  to  trial  on  the  7th,  at  half-past  8  o'clock;  and  on 
the  6th  I  attended  meeting  twenty  miles  from  home. 
You  will  find  in  the  speech  I  delivered  on  the  occa- 
sion a  reference  to  a  soliloquy,  (so  I  characterize  a 
piece'he  forwarded  me  about  three  weeks  since,)  to 
which  you  will  find  a  reply  in  the  hand-writing  of  a 
gentleman  whom  I  have  gotten  to  transcribe  my 
letter  to  him.  After  I  forwarded  my  reply,  but  be- 
fore it  reached  his  hand,  his  notice  was  served  on 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  69 

me.  Having  mislaid  his  soliloquy,  I  cannot  for- 
ward the  original ;  the  following,  however,  is  the 
form  and  substance.  He  begins  at  the  top  of  the 
sheet  thus : 

DAVID'S    BEAUTIFUL    IDEA. 

How  good  a  thing  and  how  pleasant  it  is  for 
brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity.  It  is  com- 
pared to  holy  anointing  oil.  What  are  professors 
of  religion  without  union  ?  They  only  serve 
for  sinners  to  stumble  over  to  destruction  ;  and 
it  may  truly  be  said,  when  any  member  of  our 
church,  be  he  public  or  private,  endeavors  to  sow 
dissensions  in  any  of  our  societies,  or  to  inveigh 
against  the  order  and  government  of  our  church,  he 
not  only  thereby  lays  himself  liable  to  censure,  but 
after  he  is  admonished  according  to  discipline,  to 
be  cut  off  if  he  do  not  quit  it.  I  have  taken  some 
pains  to  inform  myself  respecting  these  men,  who 
on  account  of  a  few  small  things  in  our  discipline, 
want  to  raise  disturbances  in  our  church,  and  find 
that  they  have  backslidden.  St.  Paul  had  to  com- 
plain, Demas  hath  forsaken  me,  having  loved  the 
present  world-  If  they  would  repent  and  seek 
more  grace,  they  would  no  doubt  then  be  disposed 
to  make  concessions ;  and  then,  perhaps,  differ- 
ences might  be  settled,  and  they  might  be  restored. 
I  can  truly  say  I  wish  the  salvation  of  all  men  on 
God's  earth.  Benjamin  Edge. 

As  this  is  the  first  attempt  which  I  have  heard  of 
to  enforce  the  gag-law,  the  decision  may  be  of  some 


70  HISTORY    OF    THE 

interest  to  the  reformers.  Please  write  to  me  as  soon 
as  practicable  what  disposition  you  will  make  of  it. 
If  you  knew  the  rudeness  of  the  man,  you  could  the 
better  account  for  the  severity  of  my  manner,  and  I 
hope  this  will  be  its  apology. 

Your  brother  in  Christ,  W.  W.  Hill. 

Rev.  W.  W.  HilVs  reply  to  Benjamin  Edge. 

The  motto  of  a  soliloquy, — which  reached  my 
hands  lately,  designed,  I  presume,  for  my  perusal,  it 
having  my  name  appended  to  its  back, — "David's 
Beautiful  Idea." 

The  strain  commences  with  the  following  quota- 
tion :  "How  good  a  thing  and  how  pleasant  it  is 
for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity."  The  motto 
and  prologue  which  are  here  exhibited  are  both 
mild.  The  latter  is  a  plant  of  celestial  growth,  and 
is  green  and  flourishing  with  the  dews  of  heaven  ; 
but  like  the  hyacinth,  the  lily,  or  the  rose,  choked 
with  the  thorns  and  thistles  of  the  forest  wild,  it 
may  spread  a  shade  for  the  hissing  serpent,  or 
shower  its  virgin  beauties  on  the  deadly  asp.  Oh ! 
how  the  heart  of  sensibility  must  mourn  over  this 
production,  which  dawns  with  all  the  sweet  seren- 
ity of  a  vernal  morning,  and  wakes  up  the  gay  and 
innocent  emotions  of  the  soul ;  but  ere  these  lovely 
fugitives  begin  to  carol  and  sing,  the  spirit  of  the 
peace-like  Phoebus,  rising  in  a  sea  of  fire,  frights 
them  into  the  deep  and  chilly  recesses  of  nature, 
and  all  this  joy  and  lovely  scenery,  bright  as  Eden, 
beauteous  as  Paradise,  becomes  the  arena  of  angry 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


71 


elements,  a  raging,  cloudy  ocean,  mingled  as  with 
rains  of  an  equinoctial  storm. 

The  word  unity,  as  appears  from  the  sequel,  is 
ominously  emphasized.  Physical  union  is  that 
law  of  gravity  and  attraction  by  which  the  atoms  of 
the  globe  are  held  united,  and  as  it  respects  these, 
it  may  be  called  the  union  of  necessity.  Moral 
union,  or  that  which  unites  men,  is  effected  by  vari- 
ous energies ;  among  the  more  common  are — first, 
that  of  policy  for  mutual  benefit ;  secondly,  those 
of  terror  for  purposes  of  partial  domination ;  thirdly, 
those  of  love  flowing  from  mutual  affection.  The 
last  of  those  is  that  for  which  the  psalmist  con- 
tends in  its  most  refined  sense.  But  which  of  these 
does  the  soliloquist  advocate  ?  If  it  be  the  first, 
and  he  wish  me  to  become  a  passive  particle  in  his 
fairy  system,  let  him  metamorphose  my  nature, 
as  the  fairy  of  Muckelstan  Moor  did  that  of  the 
geese  which  were  changed  into  fragments  of  grey 
rock ;  and  then  his  all-ruling  will,  like  the  law  of 
gravity  and  attraction,  can  wield  my  dust  at  plea- 
sure. If  it  be  the  second,  designed  for  mutual 
benefit,  and  he  wish  me  to  be  a  recipient  of  the 
common  good,  let  us  join  in  common  consultation 
upon  the  ground  of  mutual  rights,  that  we  may  mutu- 
ally secure  and  enjoy  the  mutual  benefit.  If  it  be 
the  third,  designed  for  partial  domination,  and  he 
wish  me  to  be  a  vassal  held  in  superstitious  chains 
of  terror,  let  him,  like  St.  Peter's  successor,  launch 
a  peal  of  papal  thunder  at  my  head,  anathematize 
all   my  members,  interdict   fire   and  water;    and 


7-2  HISTORY    OF    THE 

should  he  not  convert  me  by  these  engines  of  terror, 
when  the  United  States  become  the  dominions  of 
the  pope,  and  drive  from  their  bosom  every  repub- 
lican heretic,  I  hope  his  clemency  will  give  me  the 
rocky  summit  of  some  western  mountain  upon 
which  I  may  waste  my  days  in  penitential  solitude. 
If  it  be  the  fourth,  flowing  from  mutual  affection, 
that  affection,  that  love  which  influenced  the  Lamb 
of  God  to  die  for  the  world,  and  which  binds  the 
members  of  Christ's  mystical  body  to  each  other 
by  ties  more  tender  than  ever  twined  the  bones  and 
sinews  of  the  human  frame,  and  he  wish  me,  with 
himself,  to  be  bound  up  in  the  bundle  of  life,  let 
him  cease  to  write  about  disaffected  members,  sow- 
ing dissensions,  inveighings  against  discipline,  cut- 
tings off,  backslidings,  Demases,  reclaimings,  mak- 
ing concessions,  adjusting  matters,  &c.  &c.  Little 
did  the  royal  psalmist  imagine,  when  he  penned 
this  elegant  fragment,  which  should  be  the  melody 
of  families  mingled  in  love,  that  it  ever  should  be 
made  a  prelude  to  censures,  threats  and  cuttings 
off.  Let  the  soliloquist  cease  to  call  the  "right  of 
suffrage"  treason,  and  free  discussions  inveighings 
and  dissensions.  Let  him  cease  to  arraign  the  mo- 
tives of  his  brethren,  and  attend  more  to  his  own. 
Let  him  seek  more  of  that  zeal  and  charity  that 
comes  from  above,  and  thinks  no  evil.  Let  him 
not  mistake  that  forbearance  in  his  brethren,  which 
his  own  forwardness  alone  prompts  to  formal  resist- 
ance, for  a  want  of  zeal  and  a  loving  the  world. 
Let   him   throw  open   his   Conference   doors,   and 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  73 

invite  his  free  brethren  in  the  United  States,  as 
members  of  a  common  family,  to  equal  lights  in 
the  councils  of  his  church ;  and  let  him  make  his 
concessions  for  having  misconstrued  their  designs, 
and  having  been  officiously  casuistical  respecting 
their  motives.  In  a  word,  let  him  not  only  wish  the 
salvation  of  all  men,  but  let  him  act  in  a  way  cal- 
culated to  promote  it,  by  not  thinking  more  of  him- 
self than  he  ought  to  think,  or  less  of  others ;  and 
then  he  may  obtain  that  free  access  to  the  affec- 
tions of  his  brethren  which  he  must  for  ever  despair 
of  while  he  attempts  to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage. 
If  the  soliloquist  shall  think  proper  to  favor  me  with 
another  effusion,  I  suggest  the  following  as  the  sub- 
ject  of  his  cogitations : — First,  let  him  reconcile  the 
government  of  his  church  to  the  government  of  the 
primitive  church  and  the  civil  government  of  his 
country ;  and  then  with  more  propriety  he  may 
arraign  the  motives  of  those  who  may  refuse  their 
assent  to  its  requisitions.  But  in  the  meantime  let 
him  not  be  aggrieved  if  a  free  American  shall  re- 
fuse to  admit  that  the  ipse  dixit  of  a  few  hundred 
itinerants  should  be  a  rule  of  faith  for  three  hundred 
thousand  Americans. 

NOTICE    FROM    REV.   BENJAMIN    EDGE. 

I,  Benjamin  Edge,  assistant  preacher,  Matamus- 
keet  Banks  and  Island  circuit,  send  this  to  notify 
and  request  you  to  attend  at  the  chapel  in  Matamus- 
keet  on  next  Sunday,  the  7th  day  in  August,  A.  D. 
1S25,  to  appear  before  a  committee  of  local  preach- 
7 


74  HISTORY    OF    THE 

ers  and  before  the  assistant  preacher  of  the  circuit, 
for  the  express  purpose  of  answering  to  the  charge 
of  trying  to  sow  dissension  in  our  society,  in  this 
quarter  and  in  some  other  places,  and  inveighing 
against  some  of  our  rules  and  church  government. 
You  can  withdraw  under  church  censure  if  you  see 
proper,  if  you  do  it  in  a  formal  manner.  The  time 
appointed  for  the  committee  to  meet  is  at  half-past 
8  o'clock.     I  am  a  friend  to  all  true  Christians. 

B.  Edge. 
N.  B.     This  was  directed  on  the  back  to  "Rev. 
Wm.  W.  Hill,  Hyde  county,  N.  C,  Matamuskeet." 

The  speech  of  Rev.  Mr.  Hill  before  the  committee  in  his 
own  defence. 
Friends  and  Brethren, — This  action  and  the 
ground  upon  which  it  is  sustained  crowns  me  with 
laurels  far  beyond  my  deserts.  To  be  identified 
with  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs,  and  the  illustrious 
patriots  of  all  ages  and  nations,  who  have  bravely 
resisted  tyranny,  is  a  summit  of  glory  to  which  my 
humble  pretensions  never  aspired.  But  here,  on 
the  very  ground  consecrated  by  the  blood  of  brave 
Americans,  my  contending  for  the  right  of  suffrage 
is  construed  into  moral  treason,  for  which  I  am  ar- 
rested. You,  the  sons  of  intrepid  veterans,  bap- 
tized in  the  blood  of  slaughtered  parents,  are  called 
upon  to  punish  as  a  crime  in  me  the  act  of  con- 
tending for  the  right  of  suffrage  for  which  your 
fathers  expired.  From  the  shade  of  that  laurel 
with  which  the  genius  of  your  country  shelters  her 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


75 


children,  and  under  which  she  invites  the  oppressed 
and  suffering  sons  of  Europe  to  rejoice  and  repose, 
from  this  shade  I  am  dragged  by  the  grasp  of  an 
oppressor  before  a  tribunal,  and  I  stand  arraigned 
as  a  capital  offender.  Happy,  oh  !  thrice  happy 
am  I,  when  on  the  one  hand  I  behold  the  tribunal 
before  which  I  stand,  and  on  the  other  I  mark  the 
counts  in  the  bill  of  indictment.  In  the  patriotism 
of  that  congregation  composed  of  the  descendants 
of  those  gallant  men  who  lashed  from  their  shores 
the  galleys  of  a  civil  tyrant,  and  in  the  love  and  jus- 
tice of  that  committee,  composed  of  generous  spirits 
doubly  free,  free  from  civil  and  ecclesiastical  domi- 
nation, free  from  spiritual  tyranny,  having  been 
emancipated  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  I  feel  doubly 
secure.  But,  friends,  mark  the  items  in  this  death- 
warrant — first,  endeavoring  to  sow  dissensions  in  our 
societies,  in  this  quarter  and  elsewhere ;  and,  second- 
ly, inveighing  against  some  of  our  rules  of  church 
government.  Oh!  what  ground  of  exultation.  Oh! 
that  I  was  as  pure  as  this  arrest  would  make  me. 
From  all  that  here  occurs,  I  am  white  as  snow  and 
bright  as  a  sunbeam;  yet  the  punishment  demanded 
by  the  plea,  and  claimed  by  the  judge  at  your 
hands,  is  official  death.  After  all  the  vigilance  of 
a  regular  combination  and  deep-laid  conspiracy 
against  my  official  life  and  character,  not  a  vestige 
of  evidence  supports  the  allegation..    But,  friends, 

if  advocating  the  right  of  suffrage  be  sowing  dissen- 
ts o  o  o 

sion,  and  contending  that  lordly  combinations  in  the 
church  of  Christ  are  incompatible  with  the  religion 


76  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  Jesus,  then  indeed  I  am  guilty  of  the  crime  for 
which  patriots  have  bled  and  martyrs  expired. 

Wretched  indeed  is  the  policy  of  that  church 
which  must  be  screened  from  investigation  by  gag- 
laws,  or  protected  against  opposition  by  a  wall  of 
bayonets.  Is  this  the  character  which  he  gives  you 
of  Methodism  .?  If  so,  her  interest  requires  that  he 
should  be  the  culprit  and  I  the  prosecutor.  But, 
friends,  why  should  we  float  upon  the  surface  of 
this  business  ?  Let  us  dive  to  the  bottom  of  this 
deep-laid  conspiracy,  which  strikes  at  once  at  the 
prosperity  of  our  church  and  the  freedom  of  our 
country.  We  this  day  touch  but  a  remote  link  of  a 
vastly  extended  and  fearful  combination.  This 
freedom  of  investigation,  this  devotedness  to  equal 
rights,  this  opposition  to  lordly  encroachments,  for 
which  he  wishes  you  to  inflict  a  signal  punishment 
on  me,  is  not  the  business  of  a  corner  nor  the  reve- 
rie of  a  few  factious  minds,  as  he  would  have  you 
believe,  but  the  work  of  regular  associations,  and 
the  boast  and  glory  of  thousands  of  the  greatest  and 
best  men  belono-ina;  to  our  church.  If  I  mistake 
not,  men  who  are  now  devoted  to  the  reformation 
for  which  I  contend,  were  true  to  the  cause  of 
Methodism  when  the  oldest  bishop  now  in  the  itin- 
erancy revolted  against  her.  Why  have  not  the 
bishops,  arrayed  with  their  itinerant'  legions,  as- 
sailed the  editorial  committee  of  the  "Mutual 
Rights,"  or  the  other  associated  societies  of  the 
reformers,  and  crushed  this  rising  Atlas  at  a 
stroke?     Ah,  no!  they  are  but  too  conscious  that 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  77 

they  would  be  compelled  to  retire  from  the  assault, 
like  the  waves  of  ocean  from  a  massy  rock,  foam- 
ing in  confusion.  Why  then  does  he  attempt  an 
achievement  which  the  host  of  his  itinerant  brethren 
durst  not  touch  with  their  little  finger  ?  He  has 
rashly  calculated  upon  your  weakness  and  his  own 
strength.  With  all  the  ambition  and  none  of  the 
skill  of  Napoleon,  he  seeks  to  divide  and  then  de- 
vour. He  drags  from  the  dungeon  of  despotism 
the  chain  of  his  vengeance,  and  bids  you  to  rivet  it 
on  my  hands ;  to  paralyze  my  tongue  with  the 
frost  of  official  death,  that  I  might  talk  no  more  of 
heaven,  of  Jesus,  and  of  freedom,  would  be  the 
summit  of  his  ambition.  Yes,  friends,  the  conclave 
to.  which  he  belongs  has  found  me  of  some  use  to 
my  reforming  brethren  in  this  State,  (pardon  this 
egotism,)  and  he  views  me  as  the  shield  of  freedom 
and  of  mutual  rights  in  this  section  of  country. 
And  the  materials  of  which  he  is  made  (he  being  in 
a  great  degree  devoid  of  politeness,  delicacy  and 
sensibility)  qualify  him  to  be  a  tool  in  their  hands ; 
and  as  a  sort  of  subaltern  or  dragoon,  the  object  of 
his  mission,  I  doubt  not,  is  to  harpoon  me  from  the 
church,  and  pluck  up  at  once  the  germ  of  reforma- 
tion in  this  section  of  country.  But  I  trust  you  will 
this  day  detect  his  ambition,  and  exhibit  his  pre- 
sumption to  naked  view,  with  all  its  appalling  de- 
formities, that  it  may  be  whipped  through  the  world 
with  the  lash  of  every  generous  spirit.  And  that 
he  may  accomplish  this  work  of  spiritual  havoc  the 
more  successfully,  he  comes  under  the  plausible 
7* 


78  HISTORY    OF    THE 

appellation  of  a  brother.  If  he  be  a  brother,  it  must 
be  by  the  bonds  of  religious  love,  for  the  ties  of 
consanguinity  must  be  vastly  remote.  But  mark 
his  cold,  icy  visage :  do  you  behold  the  rosy  glow 
of  sensibility  suffuse  his  cheek,  or  the  tear  of  sym- 
pathy pearl  along  his  visage?  Do  you  behold  his 
bosom  swell  with  the  lacerated  feelings  of  an  af- 
flicted man  who  sees  a  brother  about  to  be  immo- 
lated? No:  but  with  a  sort  of  stupid  sullenness  he 
pants  for  barbarous  triumph ;  while  those  little 
sunken,  languid  blue  flames  under  his  forehead 
glimmer  with  the  lashes  of  the  inquisition.  Is  his 
conduct  better  than  his  locks?  Has  he  followed 
me  with  the  arguments,  importunities  and  remon- 
strances of  an  aggrieved  brother  ?     Where  is  the 

CO 

man  whom  he  united  with  himself  in  this  expedi- 
tion of  love  to  rescue  a  wandering  brother  from 
error,  and  bring  him  back  to  the  right  way?  No, 
not  a  word  ever  escaped  his  lips  to  me  on  the  sub- 
ject before  this  day.  When  he  passed  up  the  cir- 
cuit last  a  sort  of  soliloquy  reached  my  hands,  hav- 
ing his  name  affixed,  which  I  should  not  have 
known  was  designed  for  my  perusal  had  not  my 
name  been  appended  to  its  back ;  and  before  he 
received  my  answer  he  issued  his  arrest.  This  I 
received  on  Friday  evening,  demanding  my  at- 
tendance at  half-past  8  o'clock  the  ensuing  Sabbath, 
at  which  time  I  had  an  appointment  for  two  days' 
meeting  twenty  miles  from  home.  No  allowance 
was  made  for  the  arrangement  of  a  defence,  the 
collection  of  testimony,  nor  the  adjustment  of  busi- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  i\) 

ness;  but  with  the  promptitude  of  an  eastern  slave 
I  must  obey  this  pigmy  lord,  and  leave  the  world 
behind.  To  cap  the  climax  of  his  brotherhood,  he 
dragged  from  Carrituck,  a  distance  of  thirty  odd 
miles,  this  man  David  Ellis,  (with  whom  I  have  di- 
vided my  bread  and  purse,  and  whose  hands  I  have 
borne  up  in  this  assembly,)  and  drilled  him  as  the 
creature  of  his  vengeance  for  the  havoc  of  this  day, 
while  other  brethren  of  far  more  experience  and 
talents  lived  within  a  few  miles  of  the  scene  of  trial; 
and  that  he  might  secure  a  majority  of  three  he  has 
duped  this  old  Israelite  into  his  deadly  policy;  a 
man  with  whom  I  have  passed  ten  years  of  unin- 
terrupted union,  and  for  whom  I  could  almost  have 
died.  And  in  your  presence  this  man  has  endea- 
vored to  act  the  double  part  of  prosecutor  and  juror. 
And  if  blackness  can  be  added  to  this  portray 
of  darkness,  this  very  man,  Benjamin  Edge,  call- 
ing himself  brother,  minister  of  Christ,  assistant 
preacher,  has  ambushed  all  my  peregrinations  in 
social  circles  of  neighborhood  conviviality,  through 
which  I  have  passed  with  all  the  hilarity  and  cheer- 
fulness of  conscious  innocence ;  he  has  entered  with 
all  the  subtlety  and  venom  of  a  serpent.  He  has 
entered  into  private  families  and  scraped  the  neigh- 
borhood in  quest  of  materials  to  secure  his  deadly 
purpose.  He  has  violated  all  rules  of  politeness  by 
seeking  to  pry  into  private  conversations  through 
all  possible  mediums.  Is  this  the  minister  of  peace, 
the  herald  of  Jesus,  going  about  like  his  Lord  and 
Master  to  do  good?     Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it 


80  HISTORY     OF    THE 

not  in  Askelon.  Oh !  how  my  heart  sickens  at  the 
sight  of  this  mystery  of  iniquity.  And  that  nothing 
may  be  wanting  to  complete  this  spectacle  of  hor- 
ror you  are  called  upon  to  aid  in  this  work  of  domi- 
neering vengeance.  You,  with  whom  I  have  spent 
ten  years  of  the  most  unsullied  communion;  you, 
with  whom  I  have  often  shared  the  most  hallowed 
emblems  of  love,  the  broken  body  and  shed  blood 
of  Christ ;  yes,  you,  with  whom  ten  years  of  my 
life  have  passed  as  softly  away  as  if  I  had  glided 
on  a  river  of  oil ;  you,  with  whom  I  might  have 
softly  slept  in  Jesus  had  not  this  disturb  r  come, 
are  called  upon  to  dip  your  hands  in  the  blood  of  a 
brother  who  never  wished  you  wrong.  But,  oh! 
destruction  stops  not  here.  Each  one  of  us  is  the 
centre  of  a  little  community,  around  which  a  do- 
mestic circle  plays.  We  expect  to  hand  our  names 
over  to  future  ages,  and  to  live  in  the  persons  of 
others,  when  these  bodies,  now  rosy,  nervous  and 
gay,  are  dissolved  and  motionless  in  the  dust ; 
nevertheless  you  are  called  upon  for  a  verdict  which 
must  fester  in  the  hearts  of  our  descendants  to  the 
fourth  generation,  and  fling  a  baleful  hue  upon  the 
distant  scenery  of  future  ages.  All  this  for  what? 
That  I  may  be  bound  as  a  victim  upon  the  altar  of 
that  man's  ambition  whose  hand  trembles  to  slay 
me.  And  what  is  Benjamin  Edge?  A  passing 
cloud,  a  bird  of  flight,  an  atom  in  the  breeze,  a  bub- 
ble upon  the  stream  of  nature,  which  must  shortly 
burst  and  vanish  away,  a  scapegoat  of  the  wilder- 
ness, turned  loose  to  wander  through  the  earth  and 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  81 

leave  no  trace  behind.  And  yet  you,  the  substan- 
tialities of  civil  and  religious  society ;  you,  the  con- 
necting links  between  the  present  and  future  ages, 
are  called  upon  to  give  up  a  member  of  your  own 
body,  a  brother,  to  the  vagaries  of  this  vanishing 
shade.  And  should  you  obey  his  wishes,  what  ac- 
count will  you  give  to  the  tribunal  of  your  own  con- 
science when  you  retrospect  the  work  of  this  day, 
and  survey  a  brother,  an  innocent  man,  without  a 
shadow  of  blame,  transfixed  by  your  sentence,  and 
laid  low  in  the  dust  ?  What  account  will  you  ren- 
der to  the  free,  intrepid  spirits  of  this  assembly, 
whose  eyes  now  flash  with  the  flames  of  intelligent 
scrutiny  upon  your  deliberations,  should  you  pun- 
ish as  a  crime  in  me  the  act  of  contending  for  the 
right  of  suffrage,  for  which  their  brave  ancestors 
agonized  and  expired  ?  How  will  you  answer  for 
such  an  outrage  upon  the  sanctuary  of  freedom  to 
the  awful  and  violated  majesty  of  these  United 
States,  who  combine  as  with  the  congregated  weight 
of  the  raging  ocean  to  wreck  in  an  instant  the  pre- 
tensions of  any  tyrant  who  shall  attempt  to  violate 
the  rights  of  their  children  ?  What  plea  will  you 
offer  to  the  advocates  of  mutual  rights  in  your 
church,  who  spurn  at  lordly  encroachments  upon 
the  heritage  of  Christ  ?  And  still  more,  what  ac- 
count will  you  render  to  the  members  of  the  Roan- 
oke District  Conference,  from  whom  you  hold  your 
official  existence ;  to  whom  you  stand  pledged  in 
the  work  of  reform;  and  in  whom,  be  you  assured, 
you  will  find  the  most  inflexible  advocates  of  free 


82  HISTORY    OF    THE 

dom,  and  the  most  invulnerable  opponents  to  lordly 
pretensions  in  the  church  of  Christ?  Lastly,  how 
will  you  account  with  Him  whose  eyes  are  as  a 
flame  of  fire,  and  whose  voice  is  as  the  roaring  of 
many  waters,  when  he  shall  ask  you  why  you 
sealed  a  brother's  lips  in  silence,  and  bound  him 
.over  in  chains?  Can  you  expect  from  him,  for 
such  a  work,  the  soul-exhilarating  plaudit  of  "Well 
done,  good  and  faithful  servants,  enter  into  the  joy 
of  your  Lord?"  Will  you  not  rather  anticipate  that 
frightful  sentence,  which  will  seize  your  souls  as 
with  the  convulsions  of  an  earthquake,  "Depart  ye 
cursed  into  everlasting  fire?"  This  defence  is  not 
predicated  upon  suspicions  of  the  jury;  there  are 
men  upon  that  committee  with  whom  I  am  willing 
to  risk  my  sublunary  all ;  and  over  the  two  who 
have  been  the  dupes  of  that  man's  policy  I  would 
cast  the  mantle  of  mercy.  The  collusion  of  the 
judge,  Benjamin  Edge,  with  that  old  Israelite  who 
attempted  to  occupy  a  place  on  that  jury,  but  whom 
I  have  been  so  fortunate  as  to  identify  as  the  prose- 
cutor, averse  to  his  own  wishes  and  the  expecta- 
tions of  his  ally,  and  for  which  you  have  justly  re- 
moved him  from  your  committee;  I  say  the  collusion 
of  those  is  a  lively  comment  upon  a  mysterious 
vision  presented  to  my  mind  a  few  nights  past.  In 
appearance  a  tablet  of  state  was  before  me,  bounded 
on  the  edges  or  extremes  with  broken  inscriptions 
in  bright  characters*  which  one  requested  me  to 
read,  whose  name  I  will  not  mention,  but  which  I 
could  not  decipher;  immediately  through  the  midst 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  S3 

two  hands  with  arms  from  the  elbows  were  col- 
laterally extended  with  all  the  fingers  in  full  per- 
fection ;  and  although  the  ground  of  the  tablet  was 
like  slate,  and  the  color  of  the  hands  the  same,  yet 
the  latter  appeared  in  full  relief  and  clear  distinc- 
tion ;  the  whole  appeared  to  emit  a  fervid  glowing, 
like  a  piece  of  iron  in  a  state  of  fusion.  This  in- 
stant brings  the  interpretation.  Those  collateral 
hands  are  those  two  men  combined  against  me;  the 
color  of  the  tablet  is  the  blackness  of  the  plot ;  the 
fervid  glowing  is  the  characteristic  of  the  spirit 
which  conducts  it.  Further  I  will  not  go;  but  I 
wait  for  time  and  circumstances  10  develop  the  re- 
maining mystery.  But  the  charities  of  my  heart 
are  still  enlisted  in  behalf  of  my  prosecutor,  and  I 
could  wish  that  the  part  he  has  acted  in  this  afflict- 
ing tragedy  could  be  wiped  from  the  memory  of  his 
survivors,  for  his  days  are  evidently  almost  run, 
and  I  am  loth  to  see  this  stain  affixed  to  his  memo- 
ry. But  that  man,  Benjamin  Edge,  is  the  first 
traveling  Methodist  minister  who  ever  reached  this 
neighborhood  without  sharing  in  my  sympathies 
and  support ;  and  even  now  the  charities  of  my 
heart  should  overflow  towards  him  in  rich  effu- 
sion did  not  justice  to  myself,  my  church  and  my 
country  sternly  forbid  it.  There  is  a  point  beyond 
which  forbearance  is  an  abuse,  and  we  have  reached 
it;  and  under  the  stern  demands  of  principle  I  am 
now  compelled  to  reverse  in  this  instance  the  order  of 
my  whole  life,  and  to  recommend  him  (for  his  good) 
to  your  justice  ;   a  justice,   nevertheless,  blended 


84  HISTORY    OF    THE 

with  mercy.  Teach  him  to  respect  the  rights  of 
your  church  and  country;  let  him  know,  freemen 
of  Hyde,  that  until  he  shall  do  this  you  will  do 
without  him,  and  that  he  shall  do  without  you ;  let 
him  know  that  you  tolerate  his  performances  now 
more  out  of  respect,  to  his  church  than  out  of  re- 
spect to  his  talents.  Let  him  learn  that  that  man, 
John  Giles,  a  member  of  your  own  community, 
who  rears  a  family  for  the  commonwealth,  can  hold 
the  handle  of  his  plough  every  day  of  his  life,  and 
infinitely  transcend  him  in  talents,  though  he  de- 
vote himself  to  his  profession  alone ;  and,  indeed, 
where  is  the  man  on  that  committee  who  is  not 
better  qualified  for  public  usefulness  than  he  is? 
And,  my  brethren  of  the  laity,  while  I  really  feel 
myself  an  unprofitable  servant  in  the  main,  yet  I 
am  glad  for  your  sake  that  the  stroke  which  he  has 
leveled  at  your  freedom  has  fallen  upon  me  as 
your  shield.  I  hold  myself  ready  to  be  the  pack- 
horse  of  your  burthens,  and  am  prepared  to  share 
in  your  joys  and  sorrows;  and  I  assure  you  that 
the  devotedness  of  this  day  will  never  escape  my 
fondest  recollections. 

And  now,  my  brethren  of  the  committee,  bring  in 
a  verdict  which  shall  comport  with  the  interests  of 
your  church  and  the  rights  of  your  country,  and  I 
shall  be  satisfied. 

The  committee  reported — "No  cause  of  action." 
Was  ever  a  vindication  more  triumphant?  Was 
ever  innocence  more  nobly  or  manfully  defended 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  85 

than  upon  this  occasion  ?  No  immorality  whatever 
was  charged  against  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hill ;  but  the  speci- 
fications were  for  inveighing  against  discipline  and 
sowing  dissension  in  societies.  Was  it  not  passing 
strange  that  Benjamin  Edge  should  undertake  to 
expel  the  defendant  in  this  case  from  the  pale  of  the 
church,  depose  him  from  the  sacred  office  of  the 
ministry,  put  the  seal  of  official  silence  upon 
his  lips  for  ever,  and  arrest  him  from  pointing 
sinners  to  the  Lamb  of  God  any  more  ?  And 
all  this,  too,  for  expressing  his  opinion  concern- 
ing the  government  of  the  church  of  which  he 
was  a  member ;  an  unalienable  right  which  every 
Christian  and  patriot  possesses  in  Columbia's  hea- 
ven-favored land.  Who  can  read  brother  Hill's  de- 
fence without  admiration  ?  How  scathing  it  must 
have  been  to  the  feelings  of  the  judge,  if,  indeed, 
he  possessed  much  sensibility.  One  might  con- 
clude, from  what  he  encountered  and  suffered  on 
that  occasion,  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edge  would  ever 
afterwards  suffer  the  friends  of  reform  to  rest  in 
peace ;  but  we  shall  perhaps  hear  from  him  again 
before  the  close  of  this  history.  The  address  or 
defence,  although  severe,  should  be  read  by  every 
lover  of  mutual  rights ;  and  generations  yet  to  come 
will  admire  the  man  and  applaud  the  Christian  that 
thus  boldly  and  fearlessly  encountered  the  spirit  of 
tyranny,  and  successfully  withstood  the  insidious 
efforts  of  the  strong  hand  of  oppression. 


8 


86  HISTORY    OF   THE 


CHAPTER   III. 

Protest  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  against  the  ninth  section 
of  Discipline. — Formation  and  Constitution  of  Granville  Union 
Society  in  North  Carolina. — Trials  and  expulsions  of  some  of 
its  members. — Correspondence  between  Ivey  Harris  and  Rev. 
William  Compton  with  regard  to  the  expulsions. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  Roanoke  Union 
Society  a  committee  was  appointed  to  review  the 
ninth  section  of  the  book  of  Discipline,  as  revised 
by  the  General  Conference  of  1824,  and  make  re- 
port thereon.  The  General  Conference,  in  the  pas- 
sage of  the  rules  contained  in  that  section,  had 
touched  a  most  delicate  question,  especially  so  to 
the  people  of  the  south.  Slavery  is  an  institution 
that  is  regulated  by  law  in  the  States  where  it  ex- 
ists. Laws  are  enacted  from  time  to  time  by  the 
legislatures  of  such  States  for  the  special  govern- 
ment and  regulation  of  that  class  of  people.  Many 
individuals  who  are  members  of  the  church  are 
connected  with  slavery,  and  that,  too,  not  through 
choice  or  action  of  their  own,  but  by  the  very  cir- 
cumstances of  birth.  The  customs  which  obtain 
with  respect  to  it  are  thought,  by  those  who  have 
the  best  opportunities  of  knowing,  to  be  the  most 
conducive  to  the  welfare  of  all  concerned.  And 
whenever  an  ecclesiastical  body  interferes  with  a 
subject  that  belongs  more  properly  to  the  legisla- 
tive hall,  grounds  of  offence  are  given,  and  discord 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  87 

ensues ;  and  it  is  much  regretted  by  the  true  friends 
of  humanity  and  of  religion  that  the  misguided  zeal 
of  both  religionists  and  philanthropists  has  been 
such  as  to  militate  against  the  temporal  and  spirit- 
ual interests  of  both  classes  of  the  colored  popula- 
tion in  the  southern  States. 

The  action  of  the  General  Conference,  by  the 
adoption  of  the  ninth  section  of  Discipline  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery,  created  dissatisfaction  among 
the  people  of  the  southern  States  ;  and  in  the  south, 
generally,  the  rules  of  said  section  have  remained 
to  this  day  a  dead  letter.  The  committee  that  was 
appointed  to  review  this  section  of  the  book  of 
Discipline  brought  in  a  protest,  which,  after  some 
discussion,  was  amended  and  adopted,  and  stands 
on  record  in  the  following  form  and  words  : 

TO    ALL    WHOM    IT    MAY    CONCERN. 

"  Open  rebuke  is  better  than  secret  love." 

Extract  from  the  Methodist  Discipline,  as  revised  by  the  General 
Conference  of  1824. 

Section  IX. — Of  Slavery. 

Question.  What  shall  be  done  for  the  extirpa- 
tion of  the  evil  of  slavery  ? 

Ans.  1.  We  declare  that  we  are  as  much  as 
ever  convinced  of  the  great  evil  of  slavery.  There- 
fore, no  slave-holder  shall  be  eligible  to  any  official 
station  in  our  church  hereafter  where  the  laws  of 
the  State  in  which  he  lives  will  admit  of  emanci- 
pation, and  permit  the  liberated  slave  to  enjoy 
freedom. 


88  HISTORY    OP   THE 

2.  When  any  traveling  preacher  becomes  the 
owner  of  a  slave  or  slaves  by  any  means,  he  shall 
forfeit  his  ministerial  character  in  our  church,  unless 
he  execute,  if  it  be  practicable,  a  legal  emancipa- 
tion of  such  slaves,  conformably  to  the  laws  of  the 
State  in  which  he  lives. 

3.  All  our  preachers  shall  prudently  enforce  upon 
our  members  the  necessity  of  teaching  their  slaves 
to  read  the  word  of  God ;  and  to  allow  them  time 
to  attend  upon  the  public  worship  of  God  on  our 
regular  days  of  divine  service. 

4.  Our  colored  preachers  and  official  members 
shall  have  all  the  privileges  which  are  usual  to 
others  in  the  District  and  Quarterly  Conferences, 
where  the  usages  of  the  country  do  not  forbid  it. 
And  the  presiding  eldeV  may  hold  for  them  a  sep- 
arate District  Conference,  where  the  number  of 
colored  local  preachers  will  justify  it. 

5.  The  Annual  Conference  may  employ  colored 
preachers  to  travel  and  preach  where  their  services 
are  judged  necessary;  provided  that  no  one  shall 
be  so  employed  without  having  been  recommended 
according  to  the  form  of  Discipline. 

PROTEST    TO    NINTH    SECTION. 

1.  We  believe  the  answers  given  to  the  foregoing 
question  to  be  injurious  to  the  refined  sensibilities  of 
white  men;  because,  in  the  first  place,  it  exhibits 
the  late  General  Conference  as  a  body  of  white  men 
unnaturally  and  most  zealously  engaged  for  the 
social  advancement  and  official  promotion  of  colored 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  89 

men  in  the  Church,  in  opposition  to  her  ancient 
usages ;  and  that,  too,  without  her  consent  in  person 
or  by  proxy. 

2.  Because  the  arrangement  in  the  fourth  item 
confounds  the  white  and  colored  officers  of  the 
church  in  the  Quarterly  Conferences,  and  the  white 
and  colored  preachers  in  the  District  Conferences, 
without  the  sanction  of  the  church  or  the  previous 
consent  of  parties. 

3.  Because  the  same  item  grants  to  colored 
preachers  the  twofold  prerogative  of  mixing  with 
the  whites  in  the  District  Conferences,  and  a  sepa- 
rate conference  for  themselves,  which  guarantees  to 
them  the  harmony  and  exclusive  advantage  of  a 
private  interview  with  the  presiding  elder  of  their 
respective  districts. 

4.  Because  the  fifth  item  authorizes  the  Annual 
Conferences  to  employ  colored  preachers  to  travel 
and  preach  without  the  consent  of  the  people  to 
whom  they  are  destined  to  preach. 

5.  Because  the  third  item  makes  it  the  duty  of 
the  preachers  to  enforce  upon  our  members  the 
necessity  of  learning  their  slaves  to  read,  and  allow 
them  time  to  attend  preaching,  as  one  of  the  various 
means  devised  (in  said  answer)  for  the  extirpation 
of  the  evil  of  slavery;  thus  secularizing  the  word 
and  worship  of  Almighty  God. 

6.  Because  the  foregoing  arrangements  subject 
the  white  members  (in  case  of  an  appeal)  to  be 
tried  by  a  parti-colored  Quarterly  Conference,  as 
the  case  may  happen. 


90  HISTORY    OF    THE 

7.  Because  the  said  answer  opens  to  men  of 
color  the  shortest  and  cheapest  road  to  social  con- 
sequence and  official  promotion  to  be  found  in  the 
United  States,  or  even  in  Christendom ;  conse- 
quently, they  will  inundate  the  church,  and  eventu- 
ally subject  the  whites  to  their  official  control. 

8.  Because  said  answer  cannot  fail  to  increase 
the  insolence  of  the  slaves  and  free  people  of  color, 
and  consequently  expose  them  to  exemplary  pun- 
ishment at  the  hands  of  their  owners  and  State 
authorities  under  which  they  live. 

This  answer  is  also  calculated  to  excite  the  oppo- 
sition and  contempt  of  our  fellow  citizens  in  the 
southern  and  western  States  against  our  traveling 
preachers.  First,  because  it  was  given  by  a  Gen- 
eral Conference  composed  of  the  representatives  of 
our  traveling  preachers,  some  of  whom  were  the 
subjects  of  the  British  government.  Secondly, 
because  this  answer  contemplates  the  extirpation 
of  the  evil  of  slavery  by  the  literary  and  pulpit  in- 
struction of  the  slaves,  and  the  official  promotion 
and  agency  of  people  of  color.  Thirdly,  because 
this  answer  enjoins  upon  our  preachers  an  interfer- 
ence with  the  civil  and  domestic  concerns  of  the 
slave-holding  States.  Fourthly,  because  this  an- 
swer has  a  direct  tendency  to  sow  the  seeds  of  do- 
mestic discontent,  and  to  create  conspiracies  in  the 
southern  States. 

For  the  above  reasons  we  do  most  solemnly  pro- 
test against  this  ninth  section  of  our  Discipline. 

Signed  in  behalf  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society, 
Eli  B.  Whitaker,  President. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  91 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  society  the  com- 
mittee on  ways  and  means  reported  a  resolution 
which  was  adopted,  that  copies  of  the  ninth  section 
of  the  Discipline,  with  the  accompanying  protest,  be 
printed  and  extensively  circulated. 

The  grounds  taken  by  the  authors  of  the  protest 
are  considered  by  many  as  imaginary  or  chimerical, 
that  there  is  nothing  in  the  ninth  section  calculated 
to  produce  any  of  the  effects  spoken  of  in  the  pro- 
test. If  so,  wrry  have  not  the  preachers  in  the 
southern  States  proceeded  to  execute  the  requisi- 
tions of  that  section ,?  So  far  as  the  knowledge  and 
observation  of  the  writer  extend,  they  suffer  them  to 
sleep:  it  has  lived  as  a  dead  letter  in  the  book. 
The  subject  was  too  delicate  for  the  southern  min- 
isters to  handle.  The  times,  customs  and  laws  all 
conspired  to  dictate  to  them  a  more  prudent  course, 
and  that  was  to  leave  the  subject  where  they 
found  it. 

Some  time  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  1826  the 
organization  of  the  Granville  Union  Society  took 
place.  Its  objects  were  the  same  as  those  of  the 
Roanoke  Union  Society.  Both  were  desirous  to 
see  a  reformation  effected  in  the  government  of  the 
church  to  which  they  belonged.  But  such  was  the 
opposition  manifested  by  clerical  authority  or  itin- 
erant supremacy,  that  the  former  society  was  soon 
destined  to  pass  through  a  fiery  ordeal.  In  a 
few  days  after  their  organization  the  preacher  in 
charge  began  to  manifest  a  disposition  to  break  up 
the  Union  Society,  and  crush  the  spirit  of  reform  as 


92  HISTORY    OF    THE 

it  were  by  his  mere  ipse  dixit.  The  writer  begs 
leave  to  introduce  here  a  "letter  from  the  Granville 
Union  Society  to  the  Baltimore  Union  Society, 
giving  an  account  of  the  late  proceedings  against 
reformers,  and  asking  advice." 

Dear  Brethren, — On  the  fourth  Friday  and 
days  following  in  July,  1S26,  we  met  at  Plank 
Chapel  meeting-house,  in  Tar  River  Circuit,  for  the 
purpose  of  organizing  a  Union  Society,  which  we 
proceeded  to  do,  after  prayer,  in  the  following  man- 
ner:— A  brother  arose  and  proceeded  to  inform  the 
congregation  of  the  objects  of  the  meeting,  namely, 
to  unite  for  the  purpose  of  petitioning  the  General 
Conference  to  grant  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  an  equitable  representative  form  of  govern- 
ment; and  after  having  answered  all  the  objections 
which  he  had  heard  urged  by  the  old  side  brethren 
in  a  very  satisfactory  manner,  he  called  on  all  who 
were  friendly  to  the  wished  for  amendment  to  take 
seats  in  one  square  of  the  meeting-house,  which  was 
accordingly  done.  We  then  proceeded  to  elect  our 
officers.  Anderson  Paschall,  President;  Lewellyn 
Jones,  Vice  President;  and  Rev.  Jesse  H.  Cobb, 
Secretary.  There  were  about  fifteen  persons  who 
became  members  of  this  society  at  that  meeting, 
who  proceeded  to  adopt  the  following 

CONSTITUTION 
OF  THE  GRANVILLE  UNION   SOCIETY  OF   N.  CAROLINA. 

Whereas  it  is  an  acknowledged  principle,  in  all 
equitable  and  well  regulated  ecclesiastical  govern- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


93 


merits,  that  each  member  should  be  guarded  as  a 
Christian  in  his  rights  and  privileges,  the  principle 
•of  which  is  the  right  of  representation  in  the  law- 
making department,  either  personally  or  by  his 
representative  ;  and  as  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that 
according  to  the  present  form  of  the  government 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the  itinerant 
brethren  have  arrogated  to  themselves  and  do  exer- 
cise exclusive  authority  in  the  government  of  the 
same ;  and  whereas  a  minority  of  the  itinerant 
preachers  and  a  large  number  of  the  laity  and  lo- 
cality are  desirous  to  have  the  government  of  our 
church  so  revolutionized  as  to  secure  equality  of 
representation  to  local  and  lay  members : 

We  therefore  deem  it  advisable  in  matters  so  im- 
portant to  form  ourselves  into  a  society,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  corresponding  with  our  brethren  within  the 
United  States  who  are  favorable  to  a  reform,  on 
such  subjects  as  will  tend  to  improve  the  form 
of  our  church  government.  And  we  do  adopt 
for  the  government  of  the  society  the  following 
regulations : 

Article  1.  This  society  shall  be  denominated 
the  Granville  Union  Society,  auxiliary  to  the  Balti- 
more Union  Society. 

Art.  2.  The  officers  of  this  society  shall  consist 
of  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary,  Trea- 
surer, and  a  Corresponding  Committee  of  five 
members,  who  shall  be  elected  annually,  all  of 
whom  shall  be  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 


94  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Art.  3.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  President,  and 
in  his  absence,  the  Vice  President,  to  preside  at 
every  meeting  of  the  society,  to  call  a  special  meet- 
ing whenever  the  situation  of  the  society  may  re- 
quire it,  and  open  and  close  the  meeting  with  sing- 
ing and  prayer. 

Art.  4.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Treasurer  to 
take  charge  of  the  funds  of  the  society,  and  render 
annually,  or  oftener,  if  the  society  require  it,  a  state- 
ment of  receipts  and  expenditures ;  and  to  deliver 
to  his  successor  in  office  all  moneys,  papers,  books, 
&c,  remaining  in  his  possession. 

Art.  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Secretar}'  to 
keep  a  strict  record  of  the  proceedings  of  the 
society. 

Art.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Corresponding 
Committee  to  correspond  with  the  Baltimore  Union 
Society,  and  all  other  societies  and  persons  as  the 
members  of  this  body  may  from  time  to  time  direct, 
and  lay  before  the  society  at  each  meeting  such 
communications. 

Art.  7.  Any  person  may  become  a  member  of 
this  society  who  is  friendly  to  a  reform,  by  signing 
his  name  to  this  Constitution,  or  by  a  written  com- 
munication to  the  society,  provided  he  is  a  member 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Art.  8.  This  society  shall  meet  at  such  times 
and  places  as  shall  be  appointed,  and  contribute  to 
defray  the  expenses  of  the  same. 

Art.  9.  There  shall  be  an  annual  meeting  of  this 
society  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  at  Harris's  meeting- 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  95 

house,  for  the  purpose  of  electing  officers  and  trans- 
acting other  business. 

Art.  10.  This  Constitution  may  be  altered  or 
amended  at  any  meeting  of  the  society,  provided  a 
majority  of  the  members  be  present,  and  two-thirds 
of  them  concur  in  such  alterations  or  amendments. 

A  few  days  after  the  meeting  some  of  the  old 
side  brethren  informed  the  preacher  in  charge  (Rev. 
B.  Field)  that  there  had  been  a  union  meeting,  and 
that  six  of  the  society  under  his  charge  at  Plank 
Chapel  had  become  members.  Upon  the  receipt 
of  this  information  the  preacher  forthwith  sent  to 
each  of  them  the  following  reproof: 

"I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  you,  with  several  oth- 
ers, have  associated  in  order  to  use  your  endeavors 
to  sow  dissensions  in  our  societies  by  inveighing 
against  the  discipline  of  our  church.  It  therefore 
now  becomes  my  painful  duty  as  preacher  in  charge 
to  administer  reproof  to  you  for  your  unscriptural 
and  peace-destroying  conduct ;  and  if  you  see  pro- 
per to  yield  to  reproof  so  far  as  to  engage  in  future 
to  leave  off  such  pernicious  conduct,  I  shall  rejoice 
to  hear  the  same;  but  if  you  refuse,  you  thereby 
bring  me  under  the  necessity  of  calling  you  to 
account  before  the  church  to  answer  for  your 
conduct." 

On  the  receipt  of  this  reproof  not  one  of  them 
could  feel  guilty,  or  a  disposition  to  comply  with  its 
requirements,  for  this  obvious  reason,  the  charges 
contained  in  it  were  false  and  groundless.     They 


96  HISTORY    OF   THE 

were  nevertheless  cited  to  trial.  Four  of  the  lay- 
men were  ready.  The  trial  commenced  by  exhib- 
iting the  charges,  and  by  an  attempt  on  the  part  of 
the  preacher  to  substantiate  them.  Herein  he  ut- 
terly failed.  He,  however,  intent  on  his  purpose, 
changed  his  ground,  and  proceeded  to  examine 
some  witnesses  respecting  their  opinions  of  Union 
Society  meetings.  The  witnesses  stated  in  reply 
that  they  thought  they  were  calculated  to  sow  dis- 
sensions in  the  church.  The  preacher  in  charge 
then  asked  the  accused  for  their  defence.  Brother 
Lewellyn  Jones,  a  man  of  irreproachable  life,  pro- 
ceeded by  asking  permission  to  read  his  defence, 
alleging  that  he  labored  under  some  constitutional 
impediment  which  tended  to  injure  extempore 
speaking.  On  a  cold  admission  of  his  request,  he 
began,  but  was  ordered  immediately  to  desist,  un- 
der pretence  that  it  was  irrelevant.  A  friend  then 
offered  to  prove  Jones's  innocence  by  his  declara- 
tion as  contained  in  the  Constitution  of  the  society, 
but  he  too  was  ordered  peremptorily  to  sit  down. 
"When  your  evidence  is  wanted  I  will  call  for  it," 
said  the  preacher  in  charge.  Macon,  who  stood 
charged  next,  alleged  in  his  defence  that  the  object 
of  their  association  in  the  Union  Society  might  be 
plainly  developed  by  reading  its  Constitution,  and 
asked  permission  to  do  so,  but  this  was  refused 
him ;  he  then  asked  leave  to  read  only  two  items 
in  the  Constitution,  this  was  also  most  peremptorily 
denied.  A  brother  Valentine  was,,  then  called  on 
for  his  defence,  who  only  pleaded  his  innocence  of 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  97 

the  crimes  charged  in  his  indictment,  and  then  sub- 
mitted. A  brother  Hunt,  a  young  man,  was  called 
on  last,  who  simply  said  he  meant  no  harm;  nor 
had  he  said  one  contentious  word ;  those  with  whom 
he  had  associated  were  his  particular  acquaint- 
ances, and  he  had  every  reason  to  believe  were  his 
best  friends,  and  some  of  them  his  fathers  in  the 
gospel  as  well  as  kindred  after  the  flesh ;  he  had 
intended  no  harm,  and  had  said  nothing  that  could 
give  offence.  But  his  plea  of  innocence  before 
such  a  tribunal  could  avail  nothing.  His  staunch 
pursuer  proceeded  to  pronounce  the  unrighteous 
verdict  which  excommunicated  him  and  his  three 
suffering  brethren  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

If  this  conduct  become  notorious,  we  cannot 
conceive  with  what  grace  preachers  can  ever 
invite  another  soul  to  become  a  member  of  our 
church,  while  membership  is  so  uncertain;  will  not 
unprofessing  men  of  correct  views  warn  their  chil- 
dren and  friends  of  the  danger  of  being  disgraced 
by  some  bigoted,  unfeeling  mortal,  who  may  seek  to 
execute  his  authority  upon  them,  if  they  should  be 
so  unfortunate  as  to  differ  from  him  in  matters  of 
church  polity? 

It  is  true  these  expelled  brethren  were  brought 
before  the  class  of  which  they  were  members,  but, 
alas !  there  were  found  enough  tools  of  priestly  au- 
thority to  give  a  vote,  from  which  the  preacher 
inferred  his  right  to  expel  them  all — for  you  must 
know  that  when  the  question  was  put  to  the  society 
9 


98  HISTORY    OF   THE 

it  was  not  as  it  should  have  been,  guilty  or  not 
guilty,  as  charged  ;  but  says  the  priest,  "  all  of  you 
who  think  their  conduct  will  have  a  bad  effect  will 
signify  it  by  rising  up ;"  which  question  you  will 
perceive  had  no  relation  to  the  charge.  There  was 
also  a  local  preacher  of  the  same  class  who  was 
charged  with  just  the  same  crimes,  who  was  tried 
four  days  after  by  a  committee  of  local  preachers, 
and  although  the  preacher  in  charge  used  the  most 
vigilant  caution  to  prevent  any  reformer,  or  even 
any  who  were  suspected  of  being  reformers,  to  sit 
on  his  trial,  yet  he  was  acquitted  without  any  ac- 
knowledgment of  errors  on  his  part ;  there  being  a 
local  preacher  on  the  committee  whose  common 
sense  and  religious  soul  could  triumph  over  party 
prejudices.  The  committe  however  instructed  the 
preacher  in  charge  to  give  a  private  reproof  to  the 
acquitted  preacher  and  to  advise  him  not  to  say 
much  more  on  the  subject  of  reform  hereafter. 
The  trial  of  the  other  brother  has  not  yet  taken 
place,  he  having  removed  before  he  was  ready  to 
meet  it. 

Brother  Lewellyn  Jones  appealed  to  the  quar- 
terly meeting  conference,  and  his  case  was  there 
reconsidered  by  a  large  portion  of  the  old  side  offi- 
cial members  of  the  circuit  to  which  he  belonged. 
A  considerable  debate  took  place ;  for  there  were 
some  generous,  undaunted  souls  in  the  conference, 
who  dared  to  plead  the  cause  of  innocence  and 
mutual  rights;  during  the  discussions,  the  presiding 
elder  for  a  while  left  the  chair  and  introduced  a 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  99 

doctrine  which  we  hope  will  meet  the  contempt 
which  it  merits,  namely,  that  men  may  forfeit 
church  privileges  without  committing  an  immoral 
act,  and  instanced  a  case  or  two  in  criminal  cases, 
where  men  had  been  punished  as  thieves  and 
rogues  who  had  not  actually  stolen  any  thing;  and 
that  men  had  been  dealt  with  as  tories  who  had  not 
loaded  their  gun  nor  pulled  a  trigger;  alleging  that 
the  keeping  company  with  rogues  and  tories  was 
sufficient  proof  of  guilt.  Having  performed  this 
task,  he  resumed  the  chair  and  put  the  vote,  and 
the  majority  confirmed  the  sentence  from  which 
brother  Jones  had  appealed. 

We  would  conclude  this  communication  by  ask- 
ing the  advice  of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society  and 
their  prayers  in  this  matter.  We  [ declare,  as  to 
ourselves,  that  all  these  things  do  not  move  us.  We 
hope  that  we  are  ready  "not  only  to  be  bound  but 
to  die "  in  that  cause  which  has  ever  appeared 
to  us  a  reasonable  and  religious  one ;  and  we 
are  glad  to  say  that  we  believe  this  flagrant  out- 
rage on  our  dearest  rights  will  have  a  healthful 
bearing  on  our  cause.  It  has  already  awakened 
a  spirit  of  inquiry  and  sympathy,  and  numbers  are 
saying  "let  us  die  with  them;"  and  we  believe 
that  our  cause  and  numbers  will  always  increase 
in  exact  proportion  to  the  increase  of  light  upon  the 
subject. 

Since  writing  the  above  the  preacher  in  charge 
in  Tar  River  Circuit  has  proceeded  to  expel  three 
or  four  more  members  for  joining  the  Union  Society, 


100  HISTORY    OF    THE 

one  of  whom  was  a  preacher.     Further  commu- 
nications will  be  made  hereafter. 

We  remain,  dear  brethren,  yours  in  the  bonds  of 
a  peaceful  gospel. 

Anderson  Paschall,  President. 

Jesse  H.  Cobb,  Secretary. 

After  reading  the  preceding  constitution,  one 
would  not  suppose  that  simply  subscribing  thereto, 
and  thus  becoming  a  member  of  the  Granville  Union 
Society,  would  (upon  reasonable  principles)  consti- 
tute "sowing  dissensions  in  society,"  or  "inveigh- 
ing against  discipline."  But  man  loves  power, 
and  the  formation  of  the  Union  Society  had  in  con- 
templation a  reformation  in  the  government  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  so  as  to  abridge  the 
authority  to  a  certain  extent  of-  the  itinerancy. 
This  was  the  head  and  front  of  their  offence. 
And  although  this  was  their  undoubted  right,  as 
they  interfered  with  no  just  rights  of  other  men,  yet 
in  the  eyes  of  itinerant  supremacy  it  was  regarded 
as  a  crime,  and  in  order  to  attach  odium  was  called 
by  another  name,  "sowing  dissensions  in  society 
and  inveighing  against  discipline."  Hence,  for  this 
offence  against  what  we  might  call  the  strong  hand 
of  ecclesiastical  power,  these  innocent,  respectable, 
and  upright  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  were 
made  to  feel  most  grievously  its  injustice  and  oppres- 
sion, by  being  excluded  from  the  church  of  their 
choice. 

It  is  the  exercise  of  unjust  power  that  constitutes 
tyranny,  either  in  church  or  state  ;  and  no  tyranny 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  101 

has  been  more  cruel  or  relentless  in  the  world 
than  that  which  has  been  exercised  by  clerical 
despots.  It  was  that  which  brought  a  Latimer 
and  a  Ridley  to  the  stake.  It  was  that  which 
established  the  bloody  inquisition  in  Spain.  It  was 
that  which  made  Italy  what  she  is.  And  it  was 
but  a  modification  of  the  same  spirit  that  cast  those 
seven  members  of  the  Granville  Union  Society 
from  the  bosom  of  the  church.  And  strange  to  re- 
late, there  were  professing  Christians,  even  in  Car- 
olina, where  independence  first  drew  her  native 
breath,  that  thought  and  believed  that  it  was  right 
thus  to  eject  members  from  the  church  militant,  not 
for  any  immorality,  but  for  opinion's  sake  upon 
church  pohty  alone. 

The  manner  in  which  that  aged  Christian  man, 
Lewellyn  Jones,  was  treated  by  the  quarterly 
meeting  conference  to  which  he  had  appealed, 
drew  forth  the  sympathies  of  many  of  his  brethren 
in  his  behalf.  His  age,  his  piety,  his  standing  in 
the  community,  all  conspired  to  render  him  a  fit 
sacrifice  to  be  immolated  upon  the  altar  of  "  mutual 
rights."  The  expelled  members  thus  divested  of 
membership  in  the  church,  appealed  to  the  annual 
conference,  as  well  as  sent  up  charges  against  the 
superintendent  for  mal-administration;  but  the 
conference  decided  it  was  not  mal-administration ! 
Will  any  lover  of  justice  or  truth  pretend  to  say,  in 
view  of  all  the  circumstances,  there  was  no  need 
of  reformation  in  the  government  of  the  church  that 
tolerated  such  high-handed  measures  as  these,  or 
9* 


102  HISTORY    OP   THE 

could  look  with  approbation  upon  such  tragic 
scenes  ?  If  so,  surely  he  does  not  breathe  Ameri- 
can air. 

In  order  that  the  inquirer  after  truth  may  know 
what  feelings  and  views  were  held  by  the  preacher 
in  charge,  Rev.  Wm.  Compton,  in  reference  to  the 
expulsion  for  opinion's  sake,  we  will  bring  forward 
a  correspondence  that  ensued  between  Mr.  Ivey 
Harris  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  Compton  in  relation  to 
the  expulsion  of  Lewellyn  Jones  of  N.  Carolina,  who 
had  appealed  to  the  quarterly-meeting  Conference, 
held  at  Kings  wood  meeting  house. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Ivey  Harris  to  Rev.  TV.  Compton. 

December  17,  1826. 
Respected  Sir: 

You  will  perhaps  be  surprised  when  you  see  the 
name  of  him  who  now  addresses  you;  but  I  hope 
you  will  excuse  the  liberty  I  take,  when  I  tell  you 
that  my  mind  has  for  some  weeks  been  dwelling 
on  a  subject  in  regard  to  which  you  may  possibly 
afford  me  some  satisfaction.  I  had  thought  to  ad- 
dress you  sooner,  but  hoped  that  my  mind  might 
receive  additional  light  by  prayer  and  meditation 
on  the  subject;  but  I  must  confess  that  if  any  light 
has  been  communicated,  it  has  been  calculated  to 
involve  in  deeper  mystery  the  particular  act  to 
which  I  allude.  You  cannot  be  at  a  loss  for  my 
allusion,  when  I  refer  you  to  the  last  quarterly  meet- 
ing conference,  held  at  Kings  wood  meeting  house, 
Tar  River  Circuit,  and  particularly  to  the  part  you 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  103 

acted  in  that  awful  tragedy  on  that  occasion.  And 
now,  my  dear  brother,  permit  me  to  propose  several 
plain  questions  in  the  spirit  of  meekness :  and  first, 
was  there  any  evidence  adduced  on  that  occasion 
that  convicted  our  venerable  father  in  Israel, 
Lewellyn  Jones,  of  any  act  or  word  against  the 
laws  of  God  or  man,  more  than  was  adduced  in 
the  case  of  brother  Hunt,  at  Plank  Chapel?  I 
think  you  will  not  say  there  was.  Why  then  the 
difference  in  your  verdict  respecting  the  two  breth- 
ren? Is  it  that  you  erred  in  the  first  instance  and 
have  since  received  more  light  ?  The  fact  is,  evi- 
dence against  him  there  was  none,  and  that  in  his 
favor  was  not  admitted.  Secondly,  was  our  aged 
brother  convicted  or  even  accused  of  any  thing  that 
in  your  estimation  would  exclude  him  from  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  ?  If  not,  why  give  your  vote  to 
exclude  him  from  the  militant  church?  Thirdly, 
can  it  be  possible  that  the  shameful  attempt  of  the 
president  of  that  meeting  to  identify  the  reformers 
with  thieves  and  tories  was  so  influential  as  to  cause 
any  member  of  that  body  to  strike  the  fatal  blow  ? 
I  suppose  that  the  thing  is,  perhaps,  possible  as  it 
respects  some,  but  charity  and  long  acquaintance 
forbid  me  to  think  that  my  brother  Compton  can  at 
all  be  subject  to  such  influence.  But  should  you 
say  that  remarks  about  thieves  and  tories  were  only 
by  way  of  simile  or  comparison,  I  would  just  ask 
how  much  better  character  can  the  reformers  sus- 
tain in  the  estimation  of  any  man  who  will  raise 
his  hand  to  inflict  the  stroke  of  moral  death  on  an 


104  HISTORY    OF    THE 

old  soldier  of  the  cross,  solely  because  he  joins 
them  in  an  humble  petition  to  the  powers  that  be 
for  an  equitable  representative  government,  and  is 
so  unfortunate  as  to  be  found  sitting  on  the  same 
seats  with  them  ?  Fourthly  and  lastly,  be  so  good 
as  to  let  me  know  whether  it  was  either  just  or  gen- 
erous in  you  to  name  what  was  said  by  some  body 
in  Raleigh  on  the  subject  of  reform,  and  by  some 
one  else  in  Virginia,  and  try  to  transfer  their  guilt  to 
the  venerable  and  trembling  victim  before  you,  who 
could  no  more  prevent  what  those  unknown  men 
had  said  than  your  youngest  child  could  prevent 
the  sin  of  our  first  parents. 

And  now,  my  brother,  permit  me  to  observe, 
before  I  close,  that  language  fails  to  describe  the 
feeling  of  my  heart  when  I  heard  that  the  sen- 
tence against  the  old  brother  was  confirmed  by 
a  large  majority ;  and  my  feelings  were  still 
more  poignant,  when  I  heard  that  my  brother 
Compton,  on  whom  I  most  depended,  as  in  the 
case  of  brother  Hunt,  to  repel  the  shafts  of  despot- 
ism, prejudice  and  ignorance,  had  lent  a  hand 
and  the  strength  of  his  influence  to  hurl  an  old  dis- 
ciple of  Christ  over  the  battlements  of  the  church 
from  such  premises.  But  it  is  my  firm  belief  that 
scores  and  hundreds  of  reformers  will  arise  from 
the  ashes  of  our  aged  and  injured  brother.  Such 
measures  will  wake  up  reflection  in  thinking  minds. 
Republican  principles  and  equal  rights  are  too  pre- 
cious to  relinquish  in  a  civil  capacity,  and  thou- 
sands  are  beginning   to  see  that  Christ's  freemen 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  105 

should  enjoy,  at  least,  equal  privileges.  Be  as- 
sured, my  brother,  that  thousands  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  many 
of  whom  are  among  the  most  intelligent,  are 
ready  to  be  immolated  on  the  same  altar  on  which 
our  beloved  brother  Jones  expired;  and  I  must  take 
the  liberty  here  to  state  that  apart  from  the  little 
spark  of  grace  which  charity  requires  me  to  hope 
the  members  of  that  quarterly  conference  yet  retain, 
and  having  the  civil  authority  to  support  them,  I 
would  almost  as  soon  be  tried  by  the  popish  inqui- 
sition as  by  some  of  the  members  of  that  tribunal. 
You  will  observe  that  I  say  some  of  them,  for  there 
are  some  of  whom  I  feel  united  to  by  the  strongest 
ties  of  brotherly  love. 

And  now,  my  dear  brother,  permit  me  in  the 
conclusion  to  assure  you  that  I  feel  nothing  in  my 
heart  towards  you  contrary  to  Christian  union  and 
fellowship,  for  I  am  conscious  that  the  best  of  men 
may  err  in  their  zeal  for  what  they  believe  to  be  a 
good  cause ;  and  my  record  is  on  high  that  I  have 
not  written  a  single  word  with  a  design  to  irritate 
your  feelings,  and  I  hope  you  will  regard  my  plain 
remarks  only  as  the  effusions  of  a  full  soul.  And 
further,  I  would  request  you  (if  I  have  not  shared 
the  common  fate  of  my  reforming  brethren — if  I 
have  not  entirely  lost  your  Christian  confidence)  to 
favor  me  at  least  with  a  few  lines  in  answer  to  the 
foregoing  questions,  particularly  the  first,  second 
and  fourth.  And  I  most  sincerely  pray  Almighty 
God  that  if  light  should  be  afforded  from  any  source, 


106  HISTORY    OF    THE 

I  may  possess  a  mind  open  to  conviction  and  capa- 
ble of  receiving  it.  Respectfully  Yours, 

Ivey  Harris. 
Rev.  W.  Compton. 

P.  S.  I  would  yet  observe,  with  regard  to  our 
brother  George  W.  Nolly,  that  I  congratulate  him 
on  the  comfortable  hope  that  he  will  escape  the 
"heaviest  lashes  of  the  next  Virginia  Conference," 
in  consequence  of  having  to  return  a  "factious 
party"  about  Harris's  meeting  house,  if  not  as 
"thieves  and  tories,"  yet  as  being  quite  above  law, 
and  entirely  ungovernable.  I.  H. 

Letter  from  Rev.   Wm.   Comjyton  to  Mr.  Harris. 

December  26,  1826. 
Brother  Harris: 

Yours  of  the  17th  was  received  by  me  this  morn- 
ing. You  request  an  answer,  particularly  to  your 
first,  second  and  fourth  questions,  provided  you 
have  not  (in  my  estimation  I  suppose  you  mean) 
shared  the  same  fate  with  your  reforming  brethren. 
Were  you  placed  before  me  in  the  same  relation 
with  your  "venerable  father  in  Israel,  Lewellyn 
Jones,"  I  should  deal  towards  the  son  as  I  dealt  in 
reference  to  the  father.  Nevertheless  I  write  to  you 
because  you  so  earnestly  request  it.  You  ask, 
under  question  first,  "  was  there  any  evidence  ad- 
duced that  convicted  our  venerable  father  in  Israel* 
Lewellyn  Jones?"  Most  assuredly.  His  subscrib- 
ing to  the  constitution  of  the  Union  Society  (so 
called),  the  object  of  the  votaries  of  which  I  have 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  107 

reason  to  believe,  as  to  the  major  part  of  them,  is 
to  "revolutionize"  the  system  of  Methodist  Church 
government,  and  so  to  alter  its  economy  as  finally 
to  destroy  itinerancy  and  establish  a  congregational 
system  among  us.     You  may  say  "  God  forbid." 
If  so,  and  you  be  sincere,  this  only  vindicates  your- 
self, but  is  no  plea  for  any  other  member  of  your 
fraternity.     But  you  ask,   "had  you  not  the  same 
evidence  in  relation  to  James  Hunt .?"  &c.     I  knew 
that  he    was  a  member  of  the    same    body  with 
Lewellyn  Jones,  but  I  had  paid  but  a  superficial 
attention  to  your  constitution,  and  therefore  did  not 
act  upon  that  as  evidence  at  all,  but  solely  upon  the 
testimony  of  the  witnesses  in  the  case,  whose  testi- 
mony 1  considered    as   only  amounting  to  circum- 
stantial proof  against  said  Hunt.     This  I  stated  in 
quarterly  conference,  and  further  added  that,  if  1 
had  been  governed  by  the  constitution  of  the  Union 
Society,  I  would  have   given  my  voice  to  silence 
him.     You  inquire,   under  question  second,    "  was 
our  aged  brother  convicted,  or  even  charged  with 
any  thing  that  in  your  estimation  would  exclude  him 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ?     If  not,  why  give 
your  vote  to  exclude  him  from  the  church  mili- 
tant ?"     The  plain  English  of  this  is,  that  no  person 
ought  to  be  excluded  from  the  Methodist  (which 
you  are  pleased  to  call  the  militant)  Church,  unless 
he  be  guilty  of  something  that  would  exclude  him 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven.     This  plea  I  think 
was  sufficiently  met  by  brother  Howard.*     But  as 

*The  presiding  elder. 


10S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

most  of  us  are  forgetful  hearers  of  those  things 
which  confute  our  strongest  arguments  in  favor  of 
a  beloved  theory,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  repeat  the 
substance  of  at  least  a  part  of  what  he  said.  And 
to  make  this  more  forcible,  permit  me  to  preface  it 
with  one  or  two  questions.  Will  you  say  that  the 
Presbyterians  because  they  are  Calvinists,  or  the 
Baptists  because  they  deny  infant  baptism  and  free 
communion,  or  the  Protestant  Episcopalians  because 
they  contend  for  a  regular  succession  in  the  minis- 
try, are  heretics  and  ought  therefore  to  be  excluded 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  ?  Let  your  conscience 
answer.  Now  if  the  opinions  of  neither  the  one  nor 
the  other  of  these  denominations  are  sufficient  to 
exclude  a  man  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  then  neither 
are  the  opinions  of  the  whole,  provided  they  were 
concentrated  in  one  man.  Let  us  then  suppose 
Lewellyn  Jones  to  be  this  man.  In  sentiment  he 
is  a  Calvinist — he  denies  infant  baptism  and  free 
communion — and  contends  that  none  ought  to 
preach  the  gospel  but  those  who  can  prove  their 
ministerial  authority  in  a  direct  line  from  Christ; — 
through  the  apostolical  Church — through  the  church 
of  Rome — and  through  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  You,  I  suppose,  would  say  that  he  is  not 
to  be  excluded  the  Methodist  (that  is  to  say,  the  mili- 
tant) Church,  because  of  the  peculiarity  of  his  sen- 
timents. Is  this  the  way  you  argue?  Or  is  this  the 
"  freedom"  of  which  you  so  often  speak,  and  which, 
from  your  course  of  reasoning,  one  would  think  is 
one  of  the  constituent  parts  of  your  contemplated 


METHODIST    FROTESTANT    CHURCH.  109 

change  in  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  ?  If  so,  what  I  did  in  the  case  of  your 
"  venerable  father  in  Israel "  I  conceive  to  have 
been  one  of  the  best  acts  of  my  life.  L.  Jones  may 
or  may  not  be  a  good  man,  and  so  of  I.  Harris ;  it  is 
not  for  me  to  say.  But  when  a  man  subscribes  to 
an  instrument  of  writing,  the  express  object  of 
which  is  to  "revolutionize"  the  government  of  the 
Methodist  Church,  I  think  it  my  duty  as  a  member 
of  said  church  to  be  decided  in  my  stand  against 
him.  And  for  this  reason  I  have  resolved  to  be  no 
longer  neutral  in  the  matter. 

You  ask,  fourthly  and  lastly,   "was  it  either  just 
or  generous  in  you  to  name  what  was  said  by  some 
body  in  Raleigh  on  the   subject  of  reform,  and  by 
some  one  else  in  Virginia,   and  thus  try  to  transfer 
their  guilt  to  the  venerable  and  trembling  victim 
before  you  ?"  &c.     I  think  both.     For  certainly  I, 
as  a  Methodist,  ought  to  be  open  of  heart  (which  is 
one  definition  of  the  term  generous,  and  the  one  I 
suppose   intended)   in   vindicating    the   church   to 
which  I  belong,   and  to  which,  under  God,  I  owe 
my  religious  existence.     That  is,  I  ought  to  keep 
nothing  concealed  which  would  be  to  the  advantage 
of  said  church.     And  I  think  it  very  advantageous 
to  Methodism  that  those  who  are  dividing  our  Zion 
against  herself  should  be  traced  out  and  exposed  in 
all  their  ramifications,  both  as  it  relates  to  them- 
selves and  to  those  with  whom  they  are  connected 
in  the  great  work  of  revolutionizing  the  government 
of  the  church.     I  have  said  both,  of  course  what  I 
10 


110  HISTORY    OF    THE 

did  I  consider  an  act  of  justice  as  well  as  of  gene- 
rosity. I  will  suppose  a  case  :  C  is  found  carrying 
off  the  body  of  a  murdered  man ;  upon  examination 
it  is  ascertained  that  A  caught  the  deceased  and 
held  him  fast,  that  B  threw  him  down,  and  that  C 
stabbed  him  through  the  heart.  They  are  all  tried, 
and  being  found  accessory  to  the  man's  death,  are 
all  brought  in  guilty,  and  must  die.  In  vain  A 
pleads  that  he  only  caught  and  held  the  deceased, 
and  B  that  he  only  threw  him  down.  The  law 
says  that  they  shall  die.  But  Ivey  Harris  asks 
"whether  it  is  just  to  name  what  B  and  C  did  on 
the  trial  of  A,  and  so  to  transfer  their  guilt  to  him?" 
who,  perhaps,  may  say  that  he  had  no  idea  that 
matters  would  have  been  carried  so  far.  But  the 
law  says  that  he  must  die.  Now  who  is  to  deter- 
mine the  case?  The  court  by  which  these  men 
were  tried,  or  Ivey  Harris?  Transfer  the  idea,  and 
the  thing  is  explained.  Thus,  brother  Harris,  you 
may  perceive  what  my  views  are,  and  what  I  have 
to  offer  for  the  side  I  took  on  the  trial  of  Lewellyn 
Jones  and  Thomas  Hunt,  though  you  have  not  men- 
tioned the  young  man,  but  seemed  altogether  con- 
cerned for  your  "  father  in  Israel." 

You  ask  permission  to  propose  several  plain 
questions,  I  will  also  ask  it  to  make  several  plain 
statements.  And  first,  I  think  L.  J.  is  justly  ex- 
pelled, yet  I  think  he  is  not  so  culpable  as  those  of 
Harris's  class,  through  whose  influence  he  and  others 
have  been  turned  aside  from  the  simplicity  of  the 
gospel. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  Ill 

In  the  course  of  ray  observations,  I  have  seen 
that  those  fiery  zealots  for  what  you  call  reform,  are 
not  the  humble,  patient,  meek  and  happy  souls  they 
once  were.  As  ministers,  they  are  not  the  soul 
awakening,  soul  converting  and  soul  saving  preach- 
ers of  righteousness  they  once  were.  Instead  of 
their  time  being  devoted  to  prayer,  religious  conver- 
sation, and  trying  to  further  the  interests  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  when  they  meet,  and  espe- 
cially if  they  think  there  is  the  least  chance  to  make 
proselytes  to  their  side  of  the  question,  it  is  almost 
totally  taken  up  in  talking  about  church  govern- 
ment. This  is  their  Alpha  and  Omega.  And  yet, 
strange  to  say,  you  call  these  non-essentials.  And 
will  you,  for  the  sake  of  non-essentials,  distract  the 
body  to  which  you  belong  so  far  as  you  have  influ- 
ence ?  Will  you  give  the  adversary  to  speak  re- 
proachfully of  religion,  and  arm  the  enemies  of 
Christ  with  arguments  against  the  truth?  Would 
you  not  be  more  profitably  engaged  in  trying  to 
"  provoke  each  other  to  love  and  to  good  works  ?" 

Secondly :  you  may  observe  that  I  have  made  no 
reply  to  what  you  have  said  against  brother  How- 
ard and  others  of  the  Quarterly  Conference.  This 
I  have  not  refrained  because  you  exempt  me,  for  I 
ask  no  such  exemption.  I  wish  to  be  involved  in 
the  same  righteous  condemnation  with  my  brethren 
of  that  conference.  If  they  were  unfeeling  and  un- 
merciful because  of  the  part  they  took  against 
Lewellyn  Jones  and  Thomas  Hunt,  so  was  I.  If 
for  this  they  are  "  inquisitors,"  so  am  1.     In  a  word, 


112  HISTORY    OF    THE 

I  do  not  like  to  be  flattered.  I  am  equally  praise 
or  blameworthy  with  those  true  friends  of  old  Meth- 
odism. The  reason  why  I  say  no  more  is  not  be- 
cause any  thing  you  have  said  is  unanswerable,  but 
because  I  wish  every  man  to  fight  his  own  battle. 
And  now.  to  close  the  whole,  I  would  propose  that 
you  and  I  pray  more  and  talk  less  about  non-essen- 
tials. That  we  read  the  Bible  more,  and  try  to  get 
more  religion;  for  "without  holiness  no  man  shall 
see  the  Lord." 

.  Finally,  I  have  not  written  with  an  eye  to  a 
paper  war,  and  therefore,  though  I  fear  not  to  de- 
fend the  truth,  I  wish  this  to  be  both  the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  all  controversy  with  you  or  any  of 
your  fraternity,  on  the  subject  of  government. 
Yours  respectfully, 

Wm.  Compton. 

Mr.  Harris's  reply  to  Rev.  Wm.  Compton. 

January  7,  1829. 
Reverend  Sir: 

I  received  yours  of  the  26th  ultimo,  on  yesterday 
evening,  and  believe  it  to  be  my  duty  to  make  a 
few  remarks  on  it ;  although  when  first  I  addressed 
you,  I  assure  you,  sir,  that  I  had  no  intention  of 
opening  a  "paper  war"  with  you,  but  only  intended, 
from  a  firm  reliance  on  the  God  of  the  armies  of 
Israel  and  on  the  justice  of  my  cause,  to  throw  a 
single  stone.  And  yet  I  think  that  young  David 
chose  him  five  smooth  stones  when  he  went  against 
Goliath ;  which  seems  to  imply  that  if  the  first  had 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  113 

not  been  effectual,  he  would  have  slung  a  second. 
Having  so  bright  an  example,  I  have  determined  to 
forward  you  a  second,  which  although,  perhaps, 
not  quite  so  smooth  as  the  first,  yet  }rour  indirect 
charge  of  flattery  shall  be  my  apology  for  slinging 
it  just  as  it  is.  And,  with  the  assistance  of  grace,  I 
promise  you,  sir,  that  I  will  not  offend  you  with 
flattery  on  the  present  occasion.  And  I  further 
promise  you  that  I  will  be  as  concise  as  possible, 
consistently  with  my  determination  to  faring  into 
plainer  view  the  most  prominent  features'  of  your 
very  exceptionable  reply.  The  first  sentence  in 
your  letter  that  deserves  notice  is  as  follows : 
"  Were  you  placed  before  me  in  the  same  relation 
with  your  venerable  "  father  in  Israel,"  I  should 
deal  towards  the  son  as  I  dealt  in  reference  to  the 
father."  I  will  only  say,  as  it  respects  myself,  that 
I  most  cheerfully  accept  the  will  for  the  deed  in 
this  case,  and  will  only  add  a  consoling  line  from 
the  celebrated  Youno;: 

When  naught  hut  purpose  is  within  thy  power, 
That  purpose  firm  is  equal  to  the  deed. 

In  quoting  my  first  question,  you  stop  abruptly 
in  the  middle,  and  answer,  "most  assuredly,  his 
subscribing  to  the  constitution  of  the  Union  Society 
(so  called),  the  object  of  the  votaries  of  which  I 
have  reason  to  believe,  as  to  the  major  part  of  them, 
is  to  revolutionize  the  system  of  Methodist  Church 
government,  and  so  to  alter  its  economy  as  finally 
to  destroy  itinerancy  and  establish  a  congregational 
system  among  us,"  &c.  Now  it  the  single  circum- 
10* 


114  HISTORY    OP    THE 

stance  of  L.  J.  having  subscribed  his  name  to  the 
paper  referred  to,  amounts  to  proof  sufficient  in  the 
mind  of  any  reasonable  man  on  whom  the  sun  ever 
shone,  that  it  was  his  intention  by  that  act  to  con- 
tribute his  mite  to  accomplish  the  deleterious  ob- 
jects which  yon  are  pleased  to  ascribe  to  a  major- 
ity of  the  reformers ;  then,  sir,  there  might  be  some 
propriety  in  your  asking  respecting  him,  as  the 
high  priest  did  concerning  Jesus,  "  What  need  we 
any  further  witness."  Permit  me  first  to  inquire, 
with  regard  to  L.  J".,  whether  there  is  any  matter 
contained  in  the  obnoxious  paper  that  serves  as  a 
foundation  on  which  to  build  your  conduct  and  ac- 
tions concerning  him?  Is  there  a  single  word  or 
hint  in  that  or  any  other  official  document,  from 
which  you  can  draw  any  legitimate  conclusion  that 
either  Lewellyn  Jones  or  a  majority  of  the  votaries 
of  reform  have  any  intention  or  wish  to  "destroy 
itinerancy  or  establish  a  congregational  system 
among  us  ?"  On  the  contrary,  does  not  the  "  Mutual 
Rights,"  a  periodical  paper,  the  most  important  of 
any  extant  on  the  subject,  and  which  has  circulated 
almost  throughout  the  United  States,  (notwithstand- 
ing the  indefatigable  efforts  of  itinerants,  generally, 
to  impede  its  currency  and  smother  the  light  that 
emanates  from  it),  I  say,  does  not  that  work  abound 
with  unequivocal  attestations  of  special  attachment 
and  regard  to  the  itinerant  plan?  And  will  Wil- 
liam Compton,  at  this  time  of  day,  fly  in  the  face  of 
such  evidence,  and  assert  that  he  has  "  reason  to 
believe  that  the  object  of  a  majority  of  the  reform- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  115 

ers"  is  what  he  states  it  to  be  ?  Oh  my  God,  lay 
not  this  sin  to  his  charge!  But  you  will  say  you  do 
not  read  the  "Mutual  Rights;"  if  so,  I  must  tell 
you,  sir,  that  you  are  still  more  inexcusable,  because 
you  neglect  to  improve  the  means  of  information. 
The  old  adage  says,  "  none  so  blind  as  he  that  will 
not  see."  You  go  on  to  quote  the  latter  part  of  my 
first  question,  and  answer  as  follows  :  "I  knew  that 
he  was  a  member  of  the  same  body  with  L.  J.,  but 
I  had  paid  but  a  superficial  attention  to  your  consti- 
tution, and  therefore  I  did  not  act  upon  that  as  evi- 
dence at  all,"  &c.  Astonishing  that  an  instrument 
of  writing  so  offensive  as  that  appears  to  be  should 
have  been  read  in  your  hearing,  as  I  know  it  was, 
and  subject  to  your  perusal,  and  that  at  a  time 
when  you  were  seeking  evidence,  and  knowing 
moreover,  as  you  did,  that  several  brethren  had 
lately  been  expelled  for  having  subscribed  to  it ;  I 
say,  it  is  indeed  astonishing  that  you  could  collect 
no  scrap  of  evidence  from  that  paper  to  help  out 
the  circumstantial  proof  you  say  you  obtained  ! 
And  yet  a  few  weeks  afterwards  you  thought  you 
could  see  sufficient  turpitude  in  the  act  of  subscrib- 
ing to  the  self  same  paper  to  expel  our  venerable 
father  for  that  act  alone,  unaccompanied  with  any 
other  evidence  of  whatever  nature ! 

Permit  me  in  closing  my  remarks  on  your  answer 
to  my  first  question,  which  have  exceeded  the 
limits  I  had  set  myself,  to  suggest  that,  as  your 
mind  underwent  such  a  change,  in  reference  to  the 
paper  alluded  to,  on  a  second  reading,  that,  per- 


116  HISTORY    OP    THE 

haps,  it  would  not  be  amiss  to  give  it  a  third,  and 
perhaps  you  will  then  abandon  the  second  view 
you  took  of  it,  and  resume  the  first. 

You  next  quoted  my  second  question,  and  were 
so  condescending  as  to  translate  it  into  English  for 
me,  for  which  I  tender  you  my  thanks,  as  I  have  to 
acknowledge  that  I  am  a  bad  hand  at  translation. 
Indeed  so  ignorant  was  I  in  such  things,  that  I  did 
not  know  but  that  my  dialect  approached  nearer  to 
the  English  language  than  any  other,  though  I  was 
apprehensive  it  was  not  all  good  English.  But 
while  you  are  giving  me  the  English  of  my  second 
question,  you  enclose  a  short  sentence  in  paren- 
thesis, as  being  peculiarly  exceptionable,  as  follows: 
"The  Methodist  (which  you  are  pleased  to  call  the 
militant)  Church."  Now,  sir,  I  would  ask,  when  a 
man  is  expelled  from  the  Methodist  Church,  if  he 
is  not  at  that  moment  expelled  from  the  visible  mili- 
tant church  also  ?  You  will  take  notice  that  I  did 
not  say  that  the  Methodist  comprised  the  whole  of 
the  militant  church.  And  now,  sir,  why  this  sem- 
blance of  criticism?  You  go  on  to  state  that  my 
"second  question  was  sufficiently  met  by  your 
brother  Howard,"  but  thinking,  1  suppose,  that  you 
were  about  to  bring  me  into  a  dilemma,  you  ask  as 
follows  :  "  Will  you  say  that  the  Presbyterians  be- 
cause they  are  Calvinists,  or  the  Baptists  because 
they  deny  infant  baptism  and  free  communion,  or  the 
Protestant  Episcopalians,  because  they  contend  for 
a  regular  succession  in  the  ministry,  are  heretics 
and  ought  therefore  to  be  excluded  from  the  king- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  117 

dom  of  heaven?  Let  your  conscience  answer." 
My  conscience,  sir,  answers  no.  You  go  on  then 
to  suppose  that  all  the  errors  of  these  different 
denominations  are  concentrated  in  one  man,  who  is 
a  Methodist  and  named  L.  J.,  a  case  that  I  believe 
has  never  existed  in  the  Methodist  Church  in 
America,  and  I  think  never  will ;  but  I  will  sup- 
pose, since  it  will  accommodate  you,  that  the  thing  is 
possible,  as  we  may  suppose  that  when  the  sky  falls 
we  shall  catch  larks  ;  and  I  would  ask,  what  have 
you  gained  by  my  admission  ?  For  a  doubt  still 
remains  on  my  mind  whether  in  that  case  (if  we 
are  convinced  that  he  is  a  member  of  Christ's  mys- 
tical body,  and  a  fit  subject  for  the  church  triumph- 
ant) it  would  be  right  to  exclude  him  from  our  com- 
munion. But  as  we  are  sometimes  forgetful  readers 
"of  those  things  which  confute  our  strongest  argu- 
ments in  favor  of  a  beloved  theory,"  especially  if 
they  are  found  in  a  book  which  we  are  wont  to  re- 
gard as  almost  immaculate,  permit  me  to  refer  you 
to  your  book  of  Discipline,  last  edition  and  90th 
page,  and  you  will  there  read  as  follows:  "If  the 
accused  person  be  found  guilty,  by  the  decision  of 
a  majority  of  the  members  before  whom  he  is 
brought  to  trial,  and  the  crime  be  such  as  is  expressly 
forbidden  by  the  word  of  God,  sufficient  to  exclude  a  per- 
son from  the  kingdom  of  grace  and  glory,  let  the  minis- 
ter or  preacher  who  has  charge  of  the  circuit  expel 
him."  Now,  my  dear  sir,  it  appears  to  me  that  in 
order  to  support  your  beloved  "theory,"  or  appear 
consistent,  you  must  turn  reformer  yourself,  and 


118  HISTORY    OF    THE 

petition  the  powers  that  be  as  ardently  to  amend  or 
expunge  the  above  quotation  as  any  of  them  can  for 
the  abrogation  of  the  brandy  law,  the  law  respect- 
ing itinerant  negroes,  or  any  thing  else  to  which 
they  object.  But,  sir,  to  close  on  this  point  I  will 
now  make  an  appeal  to  your  own  reason  and  con- 
science. Do  you  believe  it  just  and  right  to  ex- 
clude a  member  of  Christ's  mystical  body,  and  a 
fit  subject  for  the  kingdom  of  glory,  from  commun- 
ion at  the  Lord's  table,  and  from  all  church  priv- 
ileges with  the  Lord's  children,  solely  on  account 
of  a  difference  of  opinion  about  non-essentials  ?  Do 
you  not  invite  all  the  Lord's  children  to  the  Lord's 
table  ?  But  perhaps  you  will  say,  I  invite  all  that 
are  in  good  standing.  If  so,  then  the  first  question 
recurs,  ought  a  difference  of  opinion  about  non- 
essentials to  affect  their  standing  ?  Oh,  my  God  ! 
drive  these  interrogatories  home  to  his  conscience. 
You  proceed  then  to  ask  exultingly,  "  Is  this  the 
way  that  you  argue?"  &c,  as  though  you  had  taken 
great  spoil.  I  think,  sir,  if  you  will  read  the  fore- 
going remarks  with  attention  and  candor,  you  may 
possibly  think  that  your  exultation  was  rather  pre- 
mature. You  go  on  to  say  that  "  when  a  man  sub- 
scribes to  an  instrument  of  writing,  the  express 
object  of  which  is  to  '  revolutionize'  the  government 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  I  think  it  my 
duty,  as  a  member  of  said  church,  to  be  decided  in 
my  stand  against  him."  I  have  no  wish,  sir,  to 
bind  your  conscience ;  for  my  venerable  father  and 
several  of  my  brethren  are  now  groaning  under  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  119 

effects  of  will  and  power  that  have  combined  to 
fetter  theirs.  If,  after  reading  the  foregoing,  and 
especially  the  many  luminous  essays  that  have  been 
published  in  the  "Mutual  Rights,"  on  the  propriety 
and  necessity  of  some  alteration  in  the  economy  of 
our  church ;  if,  after  obtaining  all  the  light  you  can 
on  this  important  subject,  you  still  feel  it  to  be  your 
duty  to  regard  your  brother  as  a  heathen  man  and  a 
publican,  because  he  prefers  an  equitable  representa- 
tive government,  then,  sir,  I  wish  you  to  enjoy  that 
freedom  for  which  we  plead.  In  closing  the  sen- 
tence you  say,  "and  for  this  reason  I  have  resolved 
to  be  no  longer  neutral  in  the  matter."  Thank  you, 
sir:  we  have  been  waiting  for  years  for  some  of  our 
old  side  chieftains  to  break  silence  on  this  subject; 
and  if  you  will  come  forward  with  your  strong  rea- 
sons, and  combat  our  arguments,  instead  of  our 
persons  or  piety,  (without  evidence,)  we  will  listen 
or  read  with  pleasure.  You  next  quote  my  fourth 
and  last  question,  and  answer  first  by  saying,  "  I 
think  both ;"  and  then  proceed  to  give  me  a  defi- 
nition of  the  term  generous  contained  in  my  question; 
after  which  you  go  on  to  display  your  generosity  in 
"vindicating  the  church,"  and  in  "keeping  nothing 
concealed  that  might  injure  her."  But  you  cer- 
tainly knew  that  my  question  did  not  have  refer- 
ence to  the  church  but  to  the  accused  person. 
You  next  mention  some  who  are  "  dividing  our 
Zion  against  herself,"  and  manifest  a  wish  to  ex- 
pose them  in  all  their  ramifications.  If,  sir,  you 
can  give  me  any  mark  by  which  I  may  know  them, 


120  HISTORY     OF    THE 

I  will  render  any  assistance  in  my  power  in  order 
*  to  detect  and  expose  them.  But  from  the  contents 
of  your  remarks  it  appears  to  me  that  you  have 
indirectly,  at  least,  charged  the  reformers  with 
this  crime.  Now,  my  dear  sir,  permit  me  to 
request  you  to  ask  your  own  conscience,  in  the 
presence  of  God,  if  it  was  not  an  uncharitable 
and  unwarrantable  insinuation  ?  Indeed,  sir,  if  I 
had  been  told  that  you  thought  the  reformers  guilty 
of  this  crime,  I  should  have  thought  that  you  were 
falsely  accused.  You  go  on  to  declare  that  you 
think  you  performed  "an  act  of  justice  as  well  as 
generosity,"  and  proceed  to  suppose  a  case  respect- 
ing a  murder  committed  by  A,  B  and  C.  You  say 
they  are  all  tried,  and  being  found  accessory  to  this 
man's  death,  &c.  Now  where  is  the  proof  that  L. 
J.  was  accessory  to  any  thing  that  those  two  other 
men  ever  said  or  did  in  their  lives.  And  now,  sir, 
as  your  case  is  entirely  irrelevant,  permit  me  to 
substitute  one  more  applicable  to  the  subject  in 
hand.  Suppose  a  murder  committed  in  the  State 
of  Tennessee  by  A  and  B,  and  an  inhabitant  of 
Granville  named  C  is  arrested  under  a  suspicion  of 
murder.  At  his  trial  a  witness  comes  forward  and 
states  that  he  saw  A  and  B  kill  a  man  in  Tennessee. 
The  judge  would  no  doubt  ask  as  follows:  "Wit- 
ness, was  C  present  or  in  any  way  accessory  to  the 
man's  death  that  you  know  of?"  The  witness 
answers,  "He  was  not  present,  and  I  have  no  rea- 
son to  believe  that  he  was  at  all  accessory  to  the 
man's  death,  only  that  he  is  a  man,  and  the  murder 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  121 

was  committed  by  men,  for  I  do  not  think  he 
ever  was  in  Tennessee."  Now,  sir,  ivey  Harris 
asks  again  whether  it  was  either  just,  generous  or 
pertinent  in  the  witness  to  name  what  A  and  B  did 
in  Tennessee,  especially  if  he  had  done  it  with  a 
design  to  impress  the  minds  of  the  judge  and  jury 
unfavorably  with  regard  to  C?  "  The  law,"  you 
say,  "  says  that  they  shall  die  ;"  but  I.  H.  asks 
whether  it  is  just  to  name  what  A  and  B  did  on  the 
trial  of  C  ?  Stop,  sir,  I.  H.  did  not  ask  whether  it 
was  just  to  name  what  A  and  B  did  on  the  trial  of 
C  "  after  they  are  all  tried  and  found  accessory  to  the 
mail's  death.''''  I  will  now,  sir,  take  occasion  to  ask 
what  law  it  is  that  you  speak  of,  and  by  what 
authority  it  was  enacted  ? 

As  you  are  fond  of  illustration,  I  will  take  the 
liberty  to  state  a  case,  and  I  promise  you  it  shall 
not  be  an  irrelevant  one ;  but  I  shall  use  different 
letters  from  yours,  because  I  think  them  more  sig- 
nificant and  appropriate.  Suppose  I  (itinerant)  is 
found  in  the  possession  of  that  which  is  the  un- 
doubted right  and  property  of  L  (local  man)  and 
L  (layman) ;  and  while  he  is  in  the  possession  of 
this  property  he  assumes  the  authority  to  enact  a 
law  punishing  with  death  L  and  L  and  their  chil- 
dren after  them,  if  they  should  be  guilty  of  remon- 
strating or  "inveighing"  against  his  authority  or 
injustice.  In  some  few  years  some  of  the  oldest 
and  most  intelligent  children  of  L  and  L  are  heard 
to  express  a  wish  that  I  would  repeal  that  law 
and  restore  them  their  right.  On  hearing  of  this, 
11 


122  HISTORY    OF    THE 

I  despatches  an  officer  to  arrest  them,  and  they 
are  brought  before  a  court  that  was  appointed  and 
its  members  nominated  by  I  himself.  Now  I.  H. 
asks  who  is  to  determine  their  case  ?  Shall  it  be  I's 
court  or  a  court  that  is  formed  on  the  principle  of 
justice,  reason  and  religion ;  or,  if  you  like  it  better, 
a  court  and  a  law  that  had  been  previously  ap- 
pointed and  enacted  by  I,  L  and  L  in  conjunction  ? 
"Transfer  the  idea,  and  the  thing  is  explained." 

You  proceed  to  make  several  "plain  statements," 
and  say,  first,  "I  think  L.  J.  is  justly  expelled,  yet 
I  think  that  he  is  not  so  culpable  as  those  of  Harris's 
class,  through  whose  influence  he  and  others  have 
been  turned  aside  from  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel." 
Worse  and  worse.  Really,  sir,  it  appears  to  me  that 
if  it  is  just  to  punish  one  who  is  inadvertently  and 
unsuspectingly  led  astray  in  this  manner,  there  can 
be  no  punishment  inflicted  in  this  life  adequate  to 
the  crime  of  him  who  is  the  contriver  of  his  seduc- 
tion. But  from  what  has  he  been  turned  aside  by 
those  emissaries  of  Satan  ?  From  the  simplicity  of 
the  gospel.  Pray,  sir,  in  what  do  you  make  the 
simplicity  of  the  gospel  to  consist  ?  Does  it  con- 
sist in  all  ecclesiastical  power  being  vested  in  few 
hands  ?  Then,  sir,  we  may  suppose  that  the  pope 
of  Rome  shared  largely  in  this  grace.  Does  it  con- 
sist in  the  itinerancy  claiming  all  legislative,  execu- 
tive and  judicial  power  in  the  church,  and  in  with- 
holding from  the  locality  and  laity  their  just  rights  ? 
Then,  sir,  you  would  make  the  gospel  knavish  as 
well  as  simple.     The  substance  of  your  remarks  is 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  123 

the  old  tale  over  again,  the  reformers  have  back- 
slidden. But  as  this  is  judging  (without  evidence, 
as  it  respects  a  large  majority  of  them) ,  and  not  ar- 
gument, I  shall  pass  it  over  by  saying,  with  an 
apostle,  "nowwalkest  thou  not  charitably."  But 
as  to  your  charge  respecting  reforming  ministers,  I 
would  just  ask  if  it  might  not  be  justly  retorted  ? 
You  next  ask,  "and  will  you,  for  the  sake  of  non- 
essentials, distract  the  body  to  which  you  belong  ?" 
No,  sir,  we  only  wish  to  introduce  a  habit  of  sober 
and  deliberate  thinking.  "  Will  you  give  the  ad- 
versary cause  to  speak  reproachfully  of  religion  ?" 
No,  sir,  we  are  laboring  to  take  from  him  all  occa- 
sion to  speak  reproachfully  of  religion  in  general, 
and  of  the  Methodist  Church  in  particular,  by  say- 
ing, as  many  have  said,  "we  admire  your  doctrines 
and  the  zeal  of  your  ministers,  but  we  despise  the 
government  of  your  church,  because  it  is  despotic 
and  aristocratical."  You  go  on,  "and  arm  the  ene- 
mies of  Christ  with  arguments  against  the  truth !" 
God  forbid !  but  we  feel  it  to  be  our  duty  to  com- 
bat such  arguments,  and  furnish  the  church  and  the 
world  with  weapons  with  which  to  defend  it.  It 
seems,  sir,  by  your  following  remarks,  that  my 
friendly  effort  to  save  your  feelings,  after  I  had  en- 
deavored plainly  to  point  out  the  injustice  of  your 
conduct  relative  to  L.  J.,  is  construed  by  you  into 
flattery,  of  which,  however,  I  was  not  conscious ; 
and  you  appear  to  glory  in  being  "equally  blame- 
worthy with  those  true  friends  of  old  Methodism." 
In  vain  you  try,  sir,  to  collect  a  tax  for  your  present 


124  HISTORY    OF    THE 

economy  by  attaching  the  term  "old"  to  it;  for 
many  of  our  present  rules  and  regulations  were 
born  since  the  days  of  Wesley.  How  old,  for  in- 
stance, is  the  brandy  law?  And  even  episcopacy 
itself  is  not  yet  forty-five  years  old  in  the  Methodist 
Church.  And  I  will  tell  you,  sir,  if  Moore's  Life  of 
Wesley  is  entitled  to  credit,  it  was  a  source  of  sor- 
row to  Mr.  Wesley  when  he  heard  that  a  man  named 
Bishop  was  born  in  America :  see  Moore's  life  of 
Wesley,  vol.  2,  page  385,  in  a  letter  addressed  to 
Mr.  Asbury,  dated  London,  September  20th,  1788. 
Although  I  know  that  between  this  letter  and  the 
account  given  in  our  Discipline,  page  6,  there  is  a 
manifest  discrepancy.  You  go  on  to  propose  that 
"you  and  I  pray  more  and  talk  less  about  non- 
essentials." As  to  praying  more,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  grace  I  will  join  you.  As  to  talking  less, 
how  does  that  accord  with  the  resolution  you  say 
you  have  formed,  "to  be  no  longer  neutral  in  the 
matter  .?" 

I  have  finished  the  argumentative  part  of  this 
address ;  and  now,  my  dear  brother  Compton,  I 
beseech  you  not  to  construe  the  pointed  manner  in 
wdiich  I  have  addressed  you,  and  my  honest  efforts 
to  avoid  the  imputation  of  flattery,  into  asperity  or 
spleen.  And  as  it  respects  your  addressing  me 
again  on  this  subject,  I  wish  you  to  consult  your 
own  feelings  and  inclination ;  and  as  I  have  endea- 
vored to  be  full  and  explicit,  I  incline  to  the  opinion 
that  I  shall  not  address  you  again  on  the  subject, 
although  I  do  not  preclude  myself.     One  request 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  125 

more  I  have  to  make  of  you,  and  that  is,  if  you 
write  again  on  this  subject,  you  will  not  trouble 
yourself  to  establish  irrelevant  points  by  irrelevant 
suppositions,  but  come  to  the  point  at  issue  between 
us.  Otherwise,  quote  Paul's  leaving  his  cloak  at 
Troas  with  Carpus  as  a  conclusive  answer  to  all 
my  arguments. 

I  add  no  more  but  a  sincere  prayer  to  Almighty 
God  that  you  and  I,  after  this  life  shall  end,  may 
fill  some  happy  seat  in  that  church  where  not  one  of 
the  members  shall  feel  any  disposition  to  punish 
either  father  or  son  on  account  of  any  difference  of 
opinion  about  non-essentials. 

Yours,  in  the  best  of  bonds, 

Ivey  Harris. 

Rev.  Wm.  Compton. 

The  Granville  Union  Society  had  been  formed  in 
July,  and  ere  six  months  had  passed  away  seven 
of  its  members  had  been  summoned  to  trial  and 
expelled  from  the  church  of  their  choice,  for  the 
crime  of  subscribing  to  the  innocent  constitution  of 
that  society.  At  the  same  time  no  charges  were 
brought  against  the  other  members  who  had  signed 
that  instrument,  and  were  equally  guilty.  The 
principal  actors  in  these  disagreeable  and  deplora- 
ble scenes  were  the  Rev.  Benton  Field  and  Rev. 
William  Compton.  They  no  doubt  concluded  that 
the  sacrifice  of  seven  victims  would  be  such  a 
victory  as  to  annihilate  the  Union  Society,  awe  into 
submission  the  advocates  of  reform,  and  eradicate 
11* 


126  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  rising  germ  of  republicanism  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  But  in  this  they  met  with  a 
most  signal  failure.  There  were,  however,  some  to 
be  found  who  talked  loudly  of  their  attachment  to 
"mutual  rights,"  whilst  no  adverse  gales  were 
blowing,  but  when  "the  tug  of  war"  came  on  their 
principles  changed  with  the  times ;  they  renounced 
the  doctrines  of  reform,  became  the  advocates  of 
itinerant  supremacy,  sought  again  to  float  in  the 
current  of  popularity,  rather  than  oppose  the  pleas- 
ure and  wishes  of  a  few  erring  mortals,  who  were 
willing  to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage  for  a  season. 
Such  men  are  to  be  pitied.  Their  principles  are 
ever  governed  by  the  rule  of  convenience.  Hence, 
when  they  ascertain  the  location  of  power  or  of  the 
majority,  they  are  at  no  loss  when  to  fall  into  ranks. 
But  there  were  many  others  who  had  espoused  the 
principles  of  "mutual  rights,"  and  adhered  to  the 
same  from  principle.  These  may,  with  becoming 
propriety,  be  called  men  of  principle,  because  they 
were  willing  to  stand  by  their  principles,  and  if  the 
force  of  circumstances  made  it  necessary,  were 
even  willing  to  bear  their  exiled  brethren  company 
unto  their  "Patmos."  Those  seven  brethren  had 
evidently  suffered  persecution  for  the  sake  of  their 
opinions,  apart  from  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel ; 
hence,  they  were  not  forsaken  by  their  brethren 
who  cherished  kindred  sentiments,  but  were  still 
received  and  regarded  as  belonging  to  the  household 
of  God. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  127 


CHAPTER    IV. 

Reform  in  Tennessee. — Trial  of  Rev.  D.  B.  Dorsey  before  the 
Baltimore  Annual  Conference. — Letter  of  Rev.  H.  B.  Bascom 
to  Mr.  Dorsey. — Rev.  Mr.  Dorsey's  reply,  giving  an  account 
of  his  trial. — Trials  and  expulsions  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jennings 
and  others  of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society  by  the  preacher  in 
charge,  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson. 

The  transactions  that  are  recorded  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapter  are  such  as  seem  to  challenge  the 
belief  of  the  credulous,  particularly  when  we  bring 
into  view  the  part  enacted  by  the  ministers  of  reli- 
gion. But  the  pious  mind  is  clouded  with  astonish- 
ment upon  a  recital  of  the  fact  that  the  administra- 
tion of  Rev.  Benton  Field  was  not  only  approved 
by  his  itinerant  brethren  in  the  ministry,  but  his 
official  character  was  passed  by  the  Virginia  An- 
nual Conference,  to  which  he  was  amenable.  That 
conference  held  its  subsequent  session  at  Peters- 
burg, Va.,  in  February,  1827.  "  The  Granville 
Union  Society  of  North  Carolina  presented  to  it  a 
petition  praying  that  seven  of  its  members  lately 
expelled  from  the  M.  E.  Church  for  being  members 
of  said  society  be  restored  to  their  former  standing. 
The  petitioners  alleged  that  although  the  charge  ex- 
hibited against  them  was  that  of  inveighing  against 
the  discipline,  yet  nothing  was  proved  against  them 
on  the  trial  but  their  having  joined  the  Granville 
Union  Society.     That  when  the  preacher  found  he 


128  HISTORY    OF    THE 

could  not  substantiate  his  charge,  he  put  the  follow- 
ing question  to  the  society:  'You  that  believe  their 
being  members  of  the  Union  Society  will  have  a 
bad  effect  will  rise  up.'  That  a  majority  of  those 
present  were  of  that  opinion  and  rose  up,  upon 
which  the  preacher  read  them  out  as  expelled. 
With  the  petition  the  Granville  Union  Society  pre- 
sented a  charge  against  the  preacher  for  mal-ad- 
ministration ;  but  the  conference  decided  that  it 
was  not  mal-administration.  Thus  the  door  is 
closed  on  our  unfortunate  brethren,  and  opened 
for  all  the  reformers  to  be  pushed  out  of  the 
church."  * 

Early  in  the  year  1825  a  disposition  was  mani- 
fested to  persecute  reformers  in  Tennessee.  There 
were  some  to  be  found  among  the  membership  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  in  that  State  who  openly  espoused 
the  doctrines  of  "  mutual  rights  ;"  but  there  too 
were  to  be  found  the  opponents  of  such  principles, 
holding  the  reins  of  power,  and  most  unscrupulously 
willing  to  exercise  the  same,  even  to  the  expulsion 
of  their  Christian  brethren  who  would  venture  to 
differ  from  them  upon  questions  of  church  polity, 
as  the.  following  extract  of  a  letter  will  show,  which 
was  published  in  the  "  Mutual  Rights"  for  Novem- 
ber, 1S25,  and  written  by  a  member  of  the  Bedford 
Union  Society : 

"  Dear  Brethren, — You  have  already  been  ap- 
prised by  Dr.  Elgin  and  brother  Smith  that  a  re- 
forming society  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

*  Letter  of  Rev.  W.  Harris. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  129 

was  about  to  be  established  in  Bedford  county, 
Tennessee.  The  society  alluded  to  organized  in 
May  last,  under  the  name  of  the  'Union  Society  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  Bedford  county, 
Tennessee,'  and  adopted  a  preamble  and  constitu- 
tion. This  measure  has  been  most  intemperately 
opposed  by  the  itinerant  preachers,  a  majority  of 
the  class  leaders  and  stewards,  as  well  as  by  some 
of  the  local  preachers  and  exhorters,  as  you  will 
see  in  the  sequel. 

"  The  first  regular  attempt  at  raising  this  society 
was  at  a  meeting  in  February  last,  at  which  time 
nothing  decisive  was  done,  except  that  all  who 
were  in  favor  of  any  alteration  or  amendment  in 
any  part  of  our  Discipline  agreed  to  have  their 
names  put  on  a  paper  to  that  effect,  and  appointed 
a  committee  to  draw  up  a  constitution,  to  be  pre- 
sented at  the  next  meeting  in  May.  But  in  April, 
previous  to  the  meeting  which  was  to  take  place  in 
May,  and  before  the  committee  had  agreed  on  any 
plan,  our  presiding  elder,  the  Rev.  James  Gwinn, 
at  a  quarterly  meeting  in  an  adjoining  circuit,  (in 
which  there  were  also  some  reformers,)  at  the  close 
of  his  sermon  on  Saturday,  publicly  read  out  the 
names  of  fourteen  official  members,  (some  of  whom 
were  local  preachers,)  living  in  different  circuits, 
and  declared  that  'these  brethren  had  put  them- 
selves out  of  the  church,  and  were  no  longer  to  be 
considered  Methodists.'  This  was  not  all,  for  at  a 
Quarterly  Meeting  Conference  in  this  circuit  the 
Saturday  following,  the  elder  introduced  a  written 


130  HISTORY    OF    THE 

resolution,  the  purport  of  which  was  to  declare  that 
the  brethren  whose  names  he  had  read  out  were  no 
longer  to  be  viewed  as  Methodists.  But  at  that 
time  the  conference  did  not  sanction  the  measure. 
After  this  a  momentary  calm  ensued,  and  it  was 
fondly  hoped  that  in  this  country  at  least  men  were 
allowed  liberty  of  conscience,  as  well  in  matters  of 
church  polity  as  in  civil  government,  without  being 
liable  to  the  anathemas  of  the  church.  But  our 
hopes  were  vain  and  delusive ;  for  as  soon  as  the 
society  organized  in  May  an  open  war  of  extermi- 
nation commenced.  One  local  preacher  after  an- 
other was  cited  to  trial  and  suspended,  and  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  Conference  have  uniformly  (thus 
far)  expelled  them  from  the  church — but  appeals 
have  been  taken  to  the  Annual  Conference.  Indeed 
they  have  found  out  a  short  way  with  the  unor- 
dained  local  preachers  and  exhorters,  that  is,  not  to 
renew  their  licenses.  The  number  of  local  preach- 
ers expelled,  cut  off  or  censured,  are  nine  or  ten, 
besides  exhorters.  And  those  in  power  emphati- 
cally declare  that  so  soon  as  they  get  the  trials  of 
all  the  official  members  completed,  if  the  common 
members  will  not  abandon  the  'Union  Society,' 
these  also  will  be  turned  out. 

"Now  that  you  may  judge  how  far  we  ought  to 
be  considered  revolters,  as  we  are  termed,  I  will 
give  you  an  extract  of  what  is  called  the  most  ob- 
jectionable part  of  our  constitution,  to  wit :  '  And 
that  this  amendment  should  introduce  an  equilibrium 
into    said   church,   by   admitting  a   representation 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  131 

from  the  local  ministers  and  laymen,  equal  to  that 
of  the  itinerant  ministers,  into  all  the  assemblies 
convened  for  the  purpose  of  making  laws  and  regu- 
lations for  her  government.'  And  to  show  you  the 
sentiments  of  our  moderate  presiding  elder  on  the 
same  subject,  I  will  give  you  an  extract  from  his 
sermon,  preached  at  a  camp-meeting  in  this  county 
on  Sunday  last,  and  taken  down  at  the  time  by 
myself,  to  wit:  'That  God,  in  his  word,  never  de- 
signed common  members  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
the  management  of  the  church — that  his  ministers 
are  the  only  judges  of  what  is  right  and  wrong,  both 
as  it  relates  to  spiritual  matters  and  church  govern- 
ment; because  God  has  called  them  to  the  work — 
that  even  these  ministers  have  no  riobt  to  legislate 
about  church  matters,  as  their  only  guide  is  the 
Bible;  but  that,  for  their  own  convenience,  they  may 
make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of 
the  societies  they  have  raised.'  Thus  you  see 
what  kind  of  equality  and  freedom  exists  in  our 
church  in  this  land  of  liberty. 

"  The  main  motive  in  making  this  communica- 
tion is  to  ask  the  counsel  and  advice  of  the  Balti- 
more Union  Society  in  relation  to  the  course  we 
ought  to  pursue,  for,  although  a  strong  effort  will  be 
made  bv  the  reformers  at  our  next  annual  Confer- 
ence  to  reverse  the  decisions  had  against  them ;  yet 
I  am  fearful  it  will  not  avail.  In  the  event  of  my 
fears  being  realized,  the  only  alternative  then  will 
be,  either  to  ask  forgiveness,  submit  to  the  yoke, 
and    abandon  every  attempt  at  a  redress   of  our 


132  HISTORY    OF    THE 

grievances,  or  organize  another  church.  What 
would  be  best  ?  We  love  the  Methodist  Church; 
we  love  her  doctrines  ;  we  love  her  ordinances  ;  we 
love  the  itinerating  plan  ;  and  we  love  her  ministers  ; 
but  we  believe  God  will  smile  upon  our  efforts  if 
we  are  driven  from  the  church,  and  thereby  com- 
pelled to  separate,  because  we  have  not  attempted 
to  do  any  thing  more  than  the  Bible  and  the  laws  of 
our  free  and  happy  country  will  justify.  I  contem- 
plate the  possibility  of  a  separation  with  fear  and 
trembling,  and  ask  counsel  in  the  sight  of  God." 

The  progress  of  the  principles  of  reform  has  been 
onward  from  the  beginning.  Though  the  hydra- 
headed  monster  persecution  had  reared  its  hideous 
front  in  many  places,  and  the  advocates  of  "  mutual 
rights  "  had  been  made  to  feel  the  oppressive  hand 
of  power,  yet  the  friends  of  religious  liberty  still 
hoped  that  a  brighter  day  would  yet  dawn  upon 
them ;  that  their  itinerant  brethren  would  be  brought 
to  acknowledge  the  "rights  and  privileges"  of  the 
laity  and  local  ministry,  inasmuch  as  many  of  them 
were  known  to  be  in  favor  of  their  claims  to  repre- 
sentation in  the  rule-making  department  of  the 
church.  Hitherto  we  have  seen  that  the  persecu- 
tions which  had  been  carried  on  against  the  advo- 
cates of  reform  were  waged  by  the  itinerant  minis- 
try individually,  and  had  merely  received  the  sanc- 
tion of  Annual  Conference.  But  in  the  beginning 
of  the  year  1827,  we  have  the  strange  spectacle  ex- 
hibited to  us  of  an  Annual  Conference  of  ministers 
of  the  gospel  in  solemn  assembly  taking  an  active 


METHODIST   PROTESTAJMT    CHURCH.  133 

part  in  these  inquisitorial  proceedings,  as  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  the  "Mutual  Rights"  for  June 
of  that  year  will  show. 

"On  Wednesday  the  ISth  of  April,  the  Rev. 
Dennis  B.  Dorsey  was  'charged  before  the  Balti- 
more Annual  Conference  with  having  been  actively 
engaged  in  the  circulation  of  an  improper  periodi- 
cal work.'  A  confidential  letter  from  Mr.  Dorsey 
to  a  friend,  recommending  to  his  attention  the 
Mutual  Rights,  as  an  important  work  on  church 
government,  was  produced  in  evidence,  and  read 
in  the  conference.  Mr.  Dorsey  acknowledged  the 
letter  to  be  his,  but  did  not  consider  that  he  had 
violated  any  law  by  recommending  the  above  work. 
After  Mr.  Dorsey  had  retired,  the  following  resolu- 
tion was  offered  by  the  Rev.  Stephen  G.  Roszel, 
and  adopted  by  the  conference:  'Resolved,  that 
Dennis  B.  Dorsey's  character  pass,  upon  his  being 
admonished  by  the  president,  and  promising  the 
conference  that  he  will  desist  from  taking  any 
agency  in  spreading  or  supporting  any  publications 
in  opposition  to  our  discipline  or  government.' 

"On  the  following  day  the  admonition  was  given 
in  due  form  from  the  chair ;  but  Mr.  Dorsey  could 
not  be  induced  to  make  the  promise  required  by  the 
resolution.  He  objected  to  it  as  unreasonable  and 
unjust — there  being  no  law  in  the  Discipline  prohib- 
iting any  preacher  from  recommending  or  circulat- 
ing such  works  as  the  Mutual  Rights.  He  stated 
that  he  was  willing  to  promise  the  conference  to  be 
submissive  to  the  discipline  and  government  of 
12 


134  HISTORY    OP   THE 

the  church,  and  to  recommend  like  obedience  to 
others,  until  by  the  legislative  authority  of  the  church 
some  modification  of  the  government  could  be 
effected.  A  promise  embracing  more  than  this 
he  informed  them  he  could  not  make. 

"  On  Friday  the  case  was  again  resumed,  and  Mr. 
Dorsey  was  pressed  to  make  the  promise  required 
by  the  resolution,  which  he  still  declined,  urging,  as 
before,  the  injustice  of  the  requirement.  Upon 
which  the  Rev.  Stephen  G.  Roszel  made  the  follow- 
ing motion:  'Moved,  that  the  character  of  brother 
Dorsey  pass,  upon  his  being  reproved  by  the  presi- 
dent for  his  contumacy  in  resisting  the  authority  of 
the  conference.'  This  motion,  however,  did  not 
prevail.  After  considerable  desultory  conversation 
on  the  case,  the  following  resolution  was  offered  by 
the  Rev.  Job  Guest,  and  adopted  by  the  confer- 
ence: 'Moved  and  seconded,  that  the  bishops  be 
and  hereb}7  are  requested  not  to  give  Dennis  B. 
Dorsey  an  appointment  for  the  present  year  ;  and 
that  his  name  be  so  returned  on  the  minutes,  with 
the  reasons  assigned  why  he  has  not  an  appoint- 
ment, viz:  his  contumacy  in  regard  to  the  authority 
.of  the  conference.'  On  Saturday  the  latter  part  of 
this  motion  was  so  far  rescinded  as  to  omit  the 
publication  of  it  on  the  printed  minutes  of  the 
conference,  but  to  retain  it  on  the  journal. 

"  Thus  was  brother  Dorse}'-,  a  presbyter  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  without  any  charge 
against  his  moral  or  religious  character,  left,  by  the 
order  of  the  conference,  without  a  prospect  of  sup- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  135 

port  for  himself  and  family,  and  that,  too,  with  a 
constitution  seriously  injured  in  the  service  of  the 
church." 

Who  can  read  the  preceding  narrative  without 
his  sympathies  being  drawn  out  in  behalf  of  this 
wronged  and  misused  man?  The  news  of  the 
action  of  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference  in  this 
case  created  quite  a  sensation  throughout  the  entire 
borders  of  the  church,  and  called  forth  just  expres- 
sions of  disapprobation  and  condemnation  from  the 
friends  of  moderation  and  equal  rights  in  all  quar- 
ters. Union  Societies  in  different  parts  of  the 
United  States  passed  resolutions  approving  the 
stand  taken  by  Mr.  Dorsey,  and  censuring  in  strong 
terms  the  action  of  the  Annual  Conference  in  the 
premises.  Liberal  contributions  were  forwarded 
by  the  friends  of  reform  from  different  quarters  to 
Baltimore,  for  his  relief  and  support,  and  the  spirit 
that  was  manifested  towards  him  by  the  friends  of 
"mutual  rights"  was  worthy  of  such  men  and  of 
such  a  cause.  Among  the  itinerant  ranks  there 
were  many  who  reprobated  in  strong  terms  the  un- 
just and  iniquitous  sentence  thus  passed  upon  him. 
Epistles  of  consolation  were  addressed  to  this  martyr 
of  mutual  rights  by  several  of  the  traveling  minis- 
ters of  the  M.  E.  Church,  some  of  which  reflected 
severely  upon  the  conduct  of  the  Baltimore  Annual 
Conference.  No  doubt  many  of  them  were  taken 
by  surprise,  as  well  as  they  knew  men,  when  they 
learned  of  the  unjust  treatment  meted  out  to  Mr. 
Dorsey  by  the  supporters  of  Episcopal   authority. 


136  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Innocence  and  truth  may  suffer,  but  among  the  vir- 
tuous and  good  they  never  fail  to  find  friends  in  the 
hour  of  trial.  Even  so  in  the  case  of  this  Christian 
minister;  there  were  men  who  boldly  came  forth  to 
sustain  him  in  the  face  of  fearful  ecclesiastical  au- 
thority, and  denounced  in  unmeasured  terms  the 
treatment  he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  the  con- 
ference. The  writer  begs  leave  to  introduce  here  a 
letter  addressed  to  the  Rev.  D.  B.  Dorsey  by  the 
Rev.  H.  B.  Bascom,  and  published  in  the  Mutual 
Rights  for  May,  1827,  inasmuch  as  Dr.  Bascom  is 
ranked  among  the  ablest  exponents  of  Methodist 
Episcopacy  by  the  membership  of  that  communion, 
and  his  claims  have  been  supported  by  some  for  the 
episcopal  office. 

April  27,   1827. 
My  Dear  Sir  : 

Not  knowing  you  personally,  nor  the  place  of  your 
residence,  I  ask  the  privilege  of  addressing  you 
through  the  medium  of  the  Mutual  Rights,  for  ap- 
proving and  recommending  of  which  you  now  stand 
suspended  as  a  Methodist  traveling  preacher!  The 
Baltimore  Annual  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church — with  three  or  more  bishops  pre- 
sent to  direct  and  shape  its  measures — have,  by  a 
solemn  resolution,  after  several  days'  deliberation, 
officially  decided  that  a  presbyter  in  the  church  of 
God  deserves  punishment  and  disgrace,  because  he 
adopts  opinions  and  sentiments,  on  the  subject  of 
church  government,  wrhich  are  received  and  acted 
upon  by  a  large   majority  of  Protestant  Christians 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  137 

throughout  the  various  divisions  of  the  religious 
world  !  I  cannot  pause,  my  brother,  to  write  the 
many  denunciations  that  common  sense,  throughout 
an  outraged  community,  will  pronounce  upon  this 
overbearing  act  of  abandoned  tyranny!  But  I 
hasten  to  inquire  why  were  you  selected  as  the  vic- 
tim, the  sole  victim,  when  it  was  in  proof  before  them 
that  others  were  in  the  same  condemnation!  Why 
did  not  "  my  lord  of  Canterbury"  who  "rides  in 
the  whirlwind  and  directs  the  storm"  among  you, 
and  by  whom  even  bishops  are  tithed  at  will,  to- 
gether with  the  active  and  zealous  doctor,  the  prin- 
pal  officer  in  his  "  star  chamber,"  select  a  goodly 
number  of  victims,  and  offer  an  appalling  hecatomb 
at  once!  Was  it  because  heaven  had  deprived  you 
of  health?  Was  it  because  you  were  remote  from 
home  and  friends?  Was  it  because,  like  your  Mas- 
ter, you  were  poor,  and  with  the  humble  sharer  of 
fortunes  "had  scarcely  where  to  lay  your  head  ?" 
Did  they  wish,  by  increasing  your  mental  inquietude, 
to  strengthen  the  desolation  without,  and  so  send 
you  to  a  premature  grave?  Or  was  it  intended  by 
the  horror  of  the  example  made  of  you,  to  say  to 
other  reformers,  "If  you  have  the  word,  we  ha.ve  the 
sword!"  I  cannot  refrain  from  asking  where  three 
or  four  members  of  the  Baltimore  Conference  were 
d  uring  this  labored  deed  of  hard-earned  infamy  ? 
Did  they  sit  by  in  inglorious  silence  ?  But,  my 
brother,  be  not  discouraged,  recollect  that  the  great 
father  of  us  all,  as  Methodists,  was  by  a  similar 
body  and  in  the  same  city  forty  years  ago,  declared 
12* 


138  HISTORY    OF    THE 

unworthy  of  name  or  place  in  that  communion,  in 
the  bosom  of  which  you  now  find  yourself  honora- 
bly degraded.  When  Mr.  Wesley  was  informed  of 
this,  he  declared,  in  a  letter  now  in  my  possession, 
that  the  American  bishop  had  "no  more  connection 
with  him."  But  I  trust  you  will  not  so  decide  in 
relation  to  your  blinded  and  prejudiced  brethren. 
"Yet  a  little  while,"  and  this  stupid,  laudean  zeal, 
will  be  cooled  in  the  humiliation  and  disgrace  of 
your  persecutors;  public  indignation  will  chastise 
their  pitiful  pretensions  to  lordly  inquisition  over  the 
rights  and  consciences  of  those  who  have  too  much 
intelligence  and  too  much  candor  to  think  and  act 
by  their  prescription  !  To  conclude,  my  dear  sir, 
I  beg  you  to  accept  the  best  wishes  of  a  stranger, 
"faint  not  in  the  day  of  evil ;"  the  honorary  over- 
throw you  have  sustained,  for  the  rights  of  con- 
science, will  make  strangers  your  friends  :  on  hear- 
ing of  the  treatment  you  and  others  received  at  the 
Baltimore  Conference,  ten  or  twelve  persons  within 
my  charge  have  declared  for  reform,  and  are  ready 
to  aid  you  with  their  influence  and  purses.  Wish- 
ing the  speedy  restoration  of  your  health,  and  that 
you  may  live  to  see  the  cause  of  religious  oppres- 
sion banished  from  the  church  and  the  world, 

I  remain  yours  in  the  kingdom  and  patience  of 
Jesus.  Vixdex. 

Rev.  D.  B.  Dorset. 

The  preceding  letter  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Bas- 
com  breathes  forth    the    sentiments  of  a   genuine 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  139 

reformer.  And  although  at  the  time  a  traveling 
minister  himself  in  the  Methodist  connexion,  yet  he 
could  venture  to  denounce  the  treatment  received 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dorsey  at  the  hands  of  the  Annual 
Conference,  and  reflect  most  severely  upon  the  in- 
justice of  such  treatment.  Nor  did  the  doctor  stop 
at  this;  but  followed  it  up  by  a  second,  in  vindica- 
tion of  the  positions  taken  in  the  first,  which  is,  if 
possible,  the  more  severe  of  the  two;  the  last  men- 
tioned letter  is  to  be  found  published  in  the  Mutual 
Rights  for  August. 

The  honest  inquirer-  after  truth  might  be  reasona- 
bly led  to  ask  the  question,  was  not  Dr.  Bascom 
called  to  account  and  dealt  with,  for  the  freedom 
and  boldness  of  his  reflections  upon  the  action  of  the 
Baltimore  Annual  Conference  in  the  case  of  Mr. 
Dorse}7  ?  The  answer  is  no.  "The  powers  that 
be"  in  the  M.  E.  Church,  at  that  time,  seem  to  have 
had  different  methods  of  dealing  with  different  men. 
Rev.  D.  B.  Dorsey  circulated  or  recommended  the 
Mutual  Rights;  for  this  he  was  proscribed  by  the 
Annual  Conference.  Rev.  H.  B.  Bascom,  D.  D., 
wrote  and  published  in  that  same  work,  the  Mutual 
Rights,  such  strictures  as  the  preceding,  upon 
and  against  a  conference  of  Methodist  minis- 
ters, with  three  bishops  at  their  head,  and  no 
charges  are  brought  against  him.  And,  unless  his- 
tory tells  a  dubious  tale,  it  was  not  long  after  these 
things  took  place  that  the  doctor  was  appointed 
to  a  professorship  in  one  of  the  western  colleges 
under   the   patronage   and    control   of  the   M.   E. 


140  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Church,*  since  which  time  his  pen  has  ceased  to 
write  such  strictures.  In  order  that  the  reader  may 
have  a  full  view  of  all  the  points  in  the  case  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Dorsey,  the  writer  will  subjoin  his  reply 
to  Rev.  H.  B.  Bascom. 

Baltimore,  May  15,  1827. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : 

I  have  had  the  pleasure  of  reading  your  affection- 
ate communication,  addressed  to  me  through  the 
medium  of  the  Mutual  Rights,  and  now  enjoy  the 
pleasure  of  returning  you,  through  the  same  me- 
dium, my  grateful  acknowledgments  for  the  solici- 
tude you  evince  on  my  behalf.  In  the  meantime 
I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  great  principles  on  which 
this  matter  is  predicated,  of  which  I  presume  you 
are  an  advocate.  As  you  put  several  interrogato- 
ries relative  to  the  case,  for  your  personal  informa- 
tion I  will  give  you  a  glance  at  the  whole  affair.  I 
am  the  more  inclined  to  this  than  to  entire  silence, 
under  existing  circumstances,  for  two  reasons. 
The  first  regards  the  reputation  of  our  conference, 
which  is  as  liable  to  be  tarnished  as  my  own ;  and  the 
second  is  grounded  on  the  special  regard  which  I 
must  necessarily  feel  for  my  character,  as  a  Christian 
and  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  This  brief  history  shall 
be  given  from  my  best  recollections,  and  the  least  ex- 
ceptionable means  of  information.  If  there  should 
be  any  apparent  mis-statement,  I  hope  no  brother 
will  attribute  it  to  design ;  and  that  if  any  one  be 

*  See  History  of  the  M.  E.  Church  by  N.  Bangs. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  141 

prepared  to  correct  it,  he  will  do  so  through  this 
public  medium,  before  he  undertakes  to  correct  or 
criminate  in  a  private  manner. 

Some  time  last  Februar}^  I  wrote  a  few  lines  to 
a  friend,  Mr.  Hugh  Sharp,  in  which  I  gave  him  in- 
formation "of  a  work  on  church  government  pub- 
lishing in  Baltimore,  by  a  committee  of  uMethodist 
preachers  and  members,  exposing  to  open  view 
some  of  the  errors  in  our  government  and  adminis- 
tration." I  also  informed  him  that  the  work  "was 
a  very  satisfactory  one,  well  worth  his  attention;" 
that  1  had  "  taken  it  more  than  eighteen  months,  and 
was  well  pleased  with  it ;"  that  it  contained  so 
many  pages,  and  came  at  so  much  per  year;  that 
several  in  that  part  took  it  and  were  well  pleased 
with  it ;  and  finally  requested  him  to  let  me  know 
immediately  if  he  desired  to  have  the  work,  and  to 
inquire  of  a  brother,  whom  I  named,  whether  he 
would  take  it  also.  In  conclusion,  I  remarked  to 
him,  "  you  need  not  mention  this  to  any  other  per- 
son, if  you  please."  But  when  Mr.  Robert  Min- 
shall,  the  preacher  in  charge  of  Huntingdon  circuit 
came  round,  my  friend  Sharp  betrayed  me,  by  giv- 
ing him  my  letter  to  read.  Mr.  Minshall  then,  ac- 
cording to  his  own  telling  in  conference,  asked  him 
for  a  copy  of  the  letter,  to  which  he  replied  that  he 
might  have  the  original,  as  it  was  of  no  use  to  him. 
About  this  time  there  was  a  letter  written  by  Mr. 
Minshall  to  Mr.  David  Steele,  giving  him  informa- 
tion that  I  was  actively  engaged  in  circulating  the 
Mutual  Rights,  and  probably  censuring  me  for  such 


142  HISTORY    OF    THE 

conduct.  This  information  was  communicated  to 
Mr.  John  Davis,  who  in  his  turn  reported  it  again, 
until,  finally,  it  was  brought  before  the  late  Annual 
Conference,  first  in  the  form  of  an  objection,  and  then 
as  a  charge.  After  the  commencement  of  the  con- 
ference,  I  had  an  interview  with  Mr.  Davis,  who 
gave  me  an  assurance  that,  as  I  would  give  him  no 
satisfaction  in  his  interrogatives,  he  could  not  pass 
over  it  on  the  examination  of  my  character.  Ac- 
cordingly, when  my  name  was  called,  in  the  exam- 
ination of  characters,  Mr.  S.  G.  Roszel  arose  and 
made  some  objections,  stating,  as  I  was  informed  by 
members  of  conference,  (for  I  was  too  unwell  to  be 
present,)  that  I  had  been  away  from  my  circuit  the 
past  year,  under  the  pretence  of  being  ajflicted,  but 
had  been  traveling  extensively,  circulating  a  work 
derogator}'  to  the  interests  of  the  church.  My  case 
was  then  postponed  until  I  could  be  present. 

The  following  or  second  day  after,  I  was  pre- 
sent, when  my  name  was  called,  and  the  inquiry 
instituted,  whether  there  was  any  thing  against  my 
character.  Certain  members  of  the  conference  re- 
plied that  there  was,  but  the  brother  who  had  made 
the  objection  was  absent.  Mr.  Roszel,  being  sent 
for,  came  in  and  stated  his  objection,  on  the  ground 
above  mentioned.  This  led  to  reference  for  infor- 
mation, and  Messrs.  Steele  and  Minshall  were  re- 
ferred to  as  informants.  My  letter  was  now  pro- 
duced by  Mr.  Minshall,  who  stated  how  he  obtained 
it,  and  intimated  that  it  had  now  accidentally  come 
in  place,  as  he  thought,  when  he  obtained  it,  might 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  143 

some  time  be  the  case.  The  letter  was  then  read, 
and  the  president,  Mr.  Soule,  remarked  that  if  I  had 
any  thing  to  say  in  reply,  I  was  now  at  liberty  to 
speak  for  myself.  As  I  saw  no  formal  charge,  I  had 
nothing  to  say,  only  to  acknowledge  the  letter  read 
to  be  my  own  production.  I  then  retired,  and 
after  considerable  deliberation  on  the  subject,  the 
case  was  decided.  Some  brother,  in  passing  out 
of  the  conference,  remarked  to  me  that  I  could  now 
go  in,  which  left  me  under  the  impression  that  my 
character  had  passed.  I  then  went  in  and  re- 
mained until  conference  adjourned,  but  heard  no 
official  announcement  of  the  decision  until  next  day. 
I  learned  however,  in  the  meantime,  the  nature  of 
the  decision,  in  part,  but  could  find  no  one  to  give 
it  to  me  in  full. 

The  next  morning,  when  the  journal  of  the  pre- 
ceding day  was  read,  there  was  a  formal  charge 
recorded,  which  was  "for  having  been  actively  en- 
gaged in  the  circulation  of  an  improper  periodical 
work."  The  president  then  announced  to  me 
from  the  chair  that  the  decision  of  the  confer- 
ence in  my  case  was,  "that  my  character  should 
pass,  upon  my  being  admonished  by  the  president, 
and  promising  the  conference  that  1  would  desist 
from  taking  any  agency  in  spreading  or  supporting 
any  publication  in  opposition  to  our  discipline  or 
government."  The  admonition  was  then  given 
from  the  chair,  after  I  had  signified  my  disposition 
to  submit  to  it,  for  the  sake  of  brethren's  con- 
sciences.    I  was  then  required   to  give  a  pledge 


144  HISTORY    OF   THE 

that  I  would  comply  with  the  latter  part  of  the 
resolution,  which  I  refused  to  do,  while  the  resolu- 
tion remained  in  its  unqualified  form.  I  then  re- 
plied to  all  the  important  items  of  the  admonition, 
and  gave  my  reasons  for  not  complying  with  the 
latter  part  of  the  resolution.  The  following  is  the 
substance : 

Mr.  President, — With  you  I  admit  the  import- 
ance of  clearly  ascertaining  that  we  have  found  the 
truth  before  we  undertake  to  communicate  it ;  and 
that  when  we  do  communicate  it,  we  ought  to  be 
careful  to  cultivate  the  spirit  of  Christianity,  lest  it 
be  attended  with  greater  injury  than  good  to  our 
fellow  men.  These  considerations  have  governed 
me  throughout ;  and  God  forbid  I  should  ever  depart 
from  them !  As  it  regards  the  allusion  to  my 
promises,  before  I  received  ordination,  to  be  obedi- 
ent to  my  superiors,  and  not  to  "  mend  our  rules, 
but  keep  them,"  I  reply  that  I  regret  exceedingly 
that  when  I  made  such  promises  I  was  not  better 
qualified  to  judge  of  our  discipline  and  government. 
I  was  young,  inexperienced  and  uninformed.  I 
perceived  no  errors  in  either  of  these.  But,  sir,  if 
I  now  had  to  pass  tha,t  examination,  I  should  cer- 
tainly be  strict  in  qualifying  my  promises,  as  I  do 
believe  there  are  rules  of  discipline,  as  well  as  prac- 
tices in  our  administration,  which  ought  to  be 
modified. 

I  do,  sir,  as  firmly  and  fully  believe  in  our  doc- 
trines, generally,  as  any  brother ;  and  have  endea- 
vored, since  I  became  a  member  of  our  church,  to 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  145 

obey  them  ;  nor  do  I  now  feel  any  abatement  of  my 
purpose  to  persevere  in  this  path  of  duty  to  the  end, 
by  the  grace  of  God  assisting  me.  I  have  uniformly 
recommended  our  Discipline  to  others,  as  well  as 
labored  to  conform  to  its  mandates  myself;  and  in 
this  course,  too,  I  feel  inclined  to  persevere  until 
some  better  modification  of  them  shall  be  intro- 
duced by  the  proper  authorit}^  of  the  church,  or  un- 
til they  be  repealed.  And  as  to  the  grand  funda- 
mentals of  our  government,  (meaning  the  itinerant 
operations,)  no  member  of  this  conference  feels 
more  disposed  to  support  them  than  I  do.  But,  sir, 
believing  as  I  do  that  there  are  some  of  the  minutiae 
of  our  discipline  and  government  which  could  be 
modified  to  advantage,  1  wish  to  enjoy  the  privilege 
of  examining  the  subject  by  reading  ecclesiastical 
history,  the  "Mutual  Rights,"  or  any  thing  else 
which  will  afford  me  the  necessary  information. 
And  when  I  am  fully  convinced  that  I  have  ob- 
tained a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  I  desire  the  privi- 
lege of  communicating  it  in  the  best  possible  manner 
to  the  church  and  the  world,  either  verbally  or 
otherwise.  And  although  I  should  rejoice  to  have 
the  sanction  of  this  conference  in  so  doing,  yet  if 
it  cannot  be  obtained,  I  must  beg  the  privilege  of 
pursuing  the  course  which  my  judgment  and  con- 
science dictate. 

You  admit  that  the  'preachers  have  a  right  to  read 

and  examine  the  "Mutual  Rights,"  or  any  thing  else 

they  please.     And  is  it  not  admitted  that  they  have 

the  same  right  to  communicate  to  others  what  they 

13 


146  HISTORY    OF    THE 

learn  ?  Are  we  to  retain  our  information,  and 
neither  speak  nor  write  about  it  ?  No,  sir,  I  cannot 
suffer  any  man  or  body  of  men  to  trammel  my 
rational  faculties  in  their  search  for  truth ;  nor  to 
restrain  them  from  promulgating  it  when  obtained  ; 
and  I  now  reserve  to  myself  the  entire  privilege  of 
doing  so,  either  verbally  or  in  any  other  manner  I 
judge  most  expedient. 

I  have  read  the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  sir,  for  myself, 
and  think  highly  of  the  work,  and  recommend  it  to 
every  member  of  this  conference.  The  bishops  them- 
selves read  it,  the  preachers  read  it,  the  book  agents 
read  it,  and  exchange  the  "  Methodist  Magazine " 
for  it ;  and  will  any  one  say  that  the  people  have  no 
right  to  read  it  ?  Without  an  act  of  reason,  my  in- 
telligence itself,  on  the  first  blush  of  the  subject, 
forces  this  language  upon  me,  if  bishops,  preachers 
and  book  agents  read  this  book  with  impunity,  then 
all  the  members  of  our  church  ought  to  enjoy  the 
same  privilege.  But  I  must  come  to  the  conclusion 
and  application  of  this  argument.  If  the  members 
have  as  good  a  right  to  read  the  "  Mutual  Rights  " 
as  the  ministry,  (which  all  must  admit,  or  else  deny- 
that  they  are  free,)  and  if  the  ministers  undoubtedly 
have  this  right,  as  has  been  admitted  on  this  floor 
by  bishops  and  others,  then  there  is  no  argument  to 
set  aside  the  consequence,  that  it  is  the  right  of  any 
preacher  to  recommend  the  work  to  the  people,  if  he 
judge  it  would  be  profitable  to  them.  And  every 
attempt  to  inflict  punishment  on  a  preacher  for 
recommending   it   to   the    people    is    an   absolute, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  147 

though  indirect,  declaration  that  they  are  not  at 
liberty  to  read  and  examine  for  themselves.  If  it 
be  a  preacher's  right,  how  can  you  punish  me  for 
so  doing ?  Yet  I  have  been  punished  with  an  admo- 
nition for  recommending  the  "Mutual  Kights"  to  one 
or  two  members,  for  this  is  all  the  proof  you  had 
against  me. 

After  this  I  retired,  and  the  sense  of  the  confer- 
ence was  taken  whether  my  reply  was  satisfactory, 
and  the  vote  was  given  in  the  negative.  I  was 
again  called  in  and  interrogated  on  the  subject,  but 
replied  as  before,  in  my  own  language,  qualifying  my 
promises,  and  yielding  so  fa?-  as  1  could  without 
sacrificing  the  clearest  dictates  of  my  judgment  and 
conscience.  I  again  retired,  and,  as  I  was  in- 
formed, the  question,  "  whether  my  character  pass," 
was  again  put  to  the  conference,  and  answered  by 
a  vote  in  the  negative.  It  was  then  "  moved  that 
the  case  be  postponed  till  to-monow." 

The  next  day  the  case  was  again  resumed,  and 
I  was  once  more  interrogated.  I  replied  in  sub- 
stance as  follows: 

Mr.  President, — Upon  a  candid  re-examination  of 
the  subject,  I  am  prepared  to  reiterate  the  remarks 
which  I  offered  }^esterday,  relative  to  my  disposi- 
tion to  render  a  respectful  obedience  to  our  disci- 
pline and  government.  But  I  request  the  confer- 
ence, if  they  please,  to  favor  me  with  the  rule  of  dis- 
cipline on  which  1  have  been  charged,  tried  and  pun- 
ished, that  I  may  be  better  prepared  to  conclude 
how  to  shape  my  course.     (No  law  was  given.)     If 


14S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

there  be  any  rule,  and  you  have  proceeded  accord- 
ing to  it,  then  I  am  subject  to  no  further  penalty, 
unless  I  can  be  punished  twice  for  the  same 
offence. 

It  has  just  now  been  suggested  to  me  by  a  brother 
at  my  left  hand  that  there  is  a  law  of  the  General 
Conference,  passed  at  their  last  session,  requiring 
our  preachers  not  to  become  agents  for  other  book- 
sellers, &c.  Now,  supposing  this  law  to  apply  to 
the  case  in  hand,  (which  we  believe  it  will  not,)  I 
knew  nothing  about  its  existence  until  half  an  hour 
ago  ;  and  how  then  could  I  keep  or  break  it  ?  It  is 
not  in  our  Discipline.  A  law  must  be  promulgated 
before  it  can  be  in  force;  for  "where  there  is  no 
law"  there  can  be  "no  transgression."  How  then 
can  I  be  punished  for  the  transgression  of  that  law? 
I  feel  myself  as  much  bound  as  any  member  of  this 
conference  to  keep  the  laws  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence, until  they  shall  be  amended  or  repealed. 
When  I  violate  any  one  of  those  laws  I  am  amena- 
ble at  this  tribunal,  and,  if  found  guilty,  subject  to 
punishment,  and  am  willing  to  submit  to  it.  But  I 
cannot  be  punished  now  for  an  offence  which  I  may 
or  may  not  commit  hereafter,  without  a  violation  of 
justice.  Moreover,  it  has  been  suggested  by  the 
president  that  "  an  Annual  Conference  has  author- 
ity to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  its  own  mem- 
bers." Admitted.  Rules  and  regulations  are  not 
laws  to  regulate  moral  conduct,  I  presume.  This 
conference  is  now  sitting  in  a  legislative  or  execu- 
tive capacity.     If  the  former,  then  not  the  latter ; 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  149 

and  if  the  latter,  not  the  former.  If  you  are  sitting 
in  an  executive  capacity,  how  can  you  enact  laws 
for  yourselves  to  execute?  if  in  a  legislative  capa- 
city, how  can  you  execute  your  own  laws  ?  unless 
you  prove  that  these  two  powers  should  be  united 
in  one  body,  which  would  astonish  my  understand- 
ing, and  prove  a  monstrous  anomaly  in  ecclesiasti- 
cal government  in  this  country. 

But  if  this  conference  had  the  power  both  to  enact 
laws  for  the  regulation  of  the  moral  characters  of 
its  members,  and  to  execute  such  laws  when  en- 
acted, surely  none  would  argue  that  you  had  au- 
thority to  punish  one  of  your  members  for  a  breach 
of  a  law  before  it  is  broken  or  even  enacted!  And 
when  was  the  law  enacted  which  prohibits  any 
of  your  body  from  recommending  the  "  Mutual 
Rights  ?"  the  supposed  offence  for  which  I  have 
suffered  the  punishment  of  an  admonition. 

I  might  easily  say  much  more  on  the  subject,  for 
it  is  one  of  the  deepest  moment  to  me  ;  but  suffer 
me  to  close  my  remarks  by  referring  brethren  to  the 
many  hard  things  which  some  of  them  have  said  on 
this  floor ;  and  also  to  what  some  of  them  have 
written  and  published  in  opposition  to  certain  parts 
of  our  discipline  and  government;  and  let  me  re- 
quest them  to  refer  to  those  things  when  they  shall 
give  their  vote  in  this  case. 

I  now  retired  again,  and  Mr.  Roszel  offered  the 

following   motion :    "  That  the   character  of  brother 

Dorset)  pass,  upon  his  being  reproved  by  the  president  for 

his  contumacy  in  resisting  the  authority  of  the  conference." 

13* 


150  HISTORY    OF    THE 

This  motion  did  not  prevail.  The  following  motion 
was  then  offered  by  Mr.  Job  Guest,  but  written,  as 
the  secretary  says,  by  Mr.  F.  S.  Evans :  "  Moved 
and  seconded,  that  the  bishops  be  and  hereby  are 
requested  not  to  give  Dennis  B.  Dorsey  an  appoint- 
ment for  the  present  year,  and  that  his  name  be  so 
returned  on  the  minutes,  with  the  reasons  assigned 
why  he  has  not  an  appointment,  viz:  his  contumacy 
in  regard  to  the  conference.''  This  motion  was 
divided,  and  the  first  and  second  parts  adopted 
separately.  The  resolution  being  read  to  me, 
when  called  in,  I  requested  a  transcript  from  the 
journal  of  all  the  proceedings  in  the  case  ;  and  sig- 
nified a  probability  of  my  appealing  to  the  General 
Conference  against  their  decision.  My  request  was 
laid  over,  however,  till  the  next  day. 

When  the  case  was  called  up  on  the  following 
day,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Joshua  Wells,  it  was  resolved, 
that  the  last  resolution  passed  on  yesterday,  rela- 
tive to  the  return  of  the  name  on  the  minutes,  be 
amended,  and  "that  the  words,  'with  the  reasons 
assigned  why  he  has  not  an  appointment,  viz:  his 
contumacy  in  regard  to  the  authority  of  the  confer- 
ence,' be  retained  on  the  journal,  but  not  published 
on  the  minutes."  This  motion  was  adopted.  The 
same  day,  as  I  could  not  be  present  on  account  of 
bodily  indisposition,  J  wrote  to  the  conference,  in- 
forming them  of  my  determination  to  appeal  to  the 
General  Conference,  and  requested  them  to  pass  a 
resolution  that  this  appeal  be  inserted  in  the  minutes 
along  with  their  former  resolution.     In  that  letter 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  151 

I  renewed  my  request  for  a  transcript  from  the 
journals.  Mr.  Robert  Cadden  then  moved  that  my 
"  request  be  not  granted."  The  secretary,  Mr. 
Waugh,  and  others,  made  some  remarks  on  the  im- 
propriety of  my  obtaining  such  a  document,  without 
some  restraint  not  to  publish  it  until  the  General 
Conference.  This  motion  was  lost.  After  this,  it 
was,  on  motion  of  Mr.  Roszel,  "resolved  that"  my 
"  request  be  granted.'''' 

Thus,  dear  sir,  you  have  an  outline  of  this  afflict- 
ive and  protracted  trial ;  and  you  are  now  left  to 
form  your  own  opinion  concerning  the  nature  and 
grounds  of  the  charge — the  manner  in  which  it  was 
introduced — the  proofs  by  which  it  was  sustained — 
the  decisions  of  the  conference  in  the  case — and  my 
merit  or  demerit  of  the  penalties  inflicted.  Solicit- 
ing an  interest  in  your  petitions  to  the  God  of  all 
grace,  that  I  may  have  that  love  which  "  endureth 
all  things,"  and  "  thinketh  no  evil,"  I  subscribe 
myself,  dear  brother,  your  fellow  laborer  ia  the 
cause  of  religious  liberty  and  in  the  ministry  of 
reconciliation,  Dennis  B.  Dorsey. 

To  Vindex. 

The  treatment  received  by  Mr.  Dorsey  at  the 
hands  of  the  Baltimore  Annual  Conference,  al- 
though it  was  an  act  unlooked  for  by  the  friends 
of  reform,  yet  did  not  dampen  the  ardor  of  the 
true  friends  of  mutual  rights.  They  saw  the  storm 
was  gathering,  and  they  were  nerved  for  the 
contest. 


152  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  part  which  the  Baltimore  Union  Society 
took  in  making  public,  through  the  "  Mutual  Rights," 
the  facts  in  Mr.  Dorsey's  case,  and  the  expression 
of  their  opinion  on  the  conduct  of  the  Baltimore 
Annual  Conference,  brought  down  upon  them  the 
displeasure  of  its  ministers. 

"The  Rev.  James  M.Han  son  and  Beverly  Waugh, 
preachers  in  charge  of  the  City  and  Point  Stations, 
immediately  excluded  fou  rteenlocal  preachers,  who 
were  reformers  residing  in  Baltimore,  from  all  the 
Methodist  pulpits  in  this  city.  Several  of  the  pro- 
scribed and  persecuted  brethren  were  formerly 
traveling  preachers  ;  most  of  them  had  been  preach- 
ers from  fifteen  to  thirty  years ;  and  all  of  them  had 
contributed  to  the  support  of  the  itinerant  ministry, 
and  towards  the  building  of  those  very  houses  of 
worship  in  which  they  were  now  considered  un- 
worthy to  officiate.  The  private  members  were 
also  made  to  feel  the  displeasure  of  men  in  power 
in  various  ways.  A  brother,  Mr.  John  Gephart, 
whose  religious  character  stood  fair,  and  who  was 
recommended  by  his  leader  as  a  suitable  person  to 
be  admitted  into  full  membership  in  the  Methodist 
Church,  was  rejected  b}r  Mr.  Hanson  because  he  was 
a  member  of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society.  It  was  now 
very  evident,  from  these  facts,  and  from  the  threats 
thrown  out  by  anti- re  formers,  that  a  storm  of  per- 
secution was  gathering  over  the  heads  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Union  Society.  They  were,  however, 
not  dismayed,  but  calmly  awaited  the  crisis,  trust- 
ing in  the  protection  of  Almighty  God,  and  resting 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


153 


their  cause  on  the  sure  foundation  of  truth  and 
righteousness. 

"Measures  were  now  taken  to  expel  the  principal 
members  of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  having  exposed  the  unjustifiable 
conduct  of  the  Annual  Conference. 

"A  secret  meeting  of  anti-reformers  was  convened 
in  July  at  a  school-room  in  this  city;  several  trav- 
eling preachers  were  present,  and  a  plan  was 
adopted  to  effect  the  expulsion  of  the  proscribed 
members.  A  committee  of  seven  anti-reformers 
were  appointed,  who  with  the  assistance  of  the 
preacher  in  charge,  Rev.  James  M.  Hanson,  were 
to  effect  this  desirable  object.  The  writer  had  an 
interview  with  the  principal  member  of  the  com- 
mittee a  day  or  two  after  their  appointment,  and  re- 
quested some  information  relative  to  their  instruc- 
tions. He  replied,  'I  will  give  you  the  informa- 
tion you  desire  very  cheerfully,  and  in  a  few  words. 
You  and  your  friends  are  members  of  the  Union 
Society,  and  say  you  will  not  leave  it.  You  pub- 
lish the  Mutual  Rights,  and  say  you  will  not  discon- 
tinue that  publication.  You  also  say  you  will  not 
withdraw  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Now  we  are  reduced  to  one  of  two  alternatives; 
either  to  let  you  remain  members  of  the  church,  and 
let  you  go  on  peacefully  publishing  the  Mutual 
Rights,  by  which  you  agitate  the  church,  or  to  ex- 
pel you.  We  have  come  to  the  determination  to 
take  the  latter  alternative  and  expel  you.  It  is 
therefore    made    the   duty   of    our    committee   to 


154  HISTORY    OF    THE 

examine  the  'Mutual  Rights,'  and  if  we  find  any 
thing-  in  that  work  which  is  a  violation  of  the  Dis- 
cipline,  we  are  authorized  to  bring  charges  and  have 
you  expelled.' 

"  Here  was  a  frank  avowal  of  the  intentions  of  the 
anti-reformers.  1.  They  had  determined  to  expel 
the  leading  reformers  in  Baltimore,  because  they 
were  members  of  the  Union  Society.  2.  Because 
they  would  continue  to  investigate  the  principles  of 
church  government.  3.  Because  they  would  not 
withdraw  from  the  church.  4.  That  some  pretext 
was  to  be  sought  by  which  to  justify  their  excom- 
munication. 5.  The  Mutual  Rights  were  to  be 
'examined' in  order  to  find  some  real  or  pretended 
accusation  by  which  these  holy  men  of  God  might 
effect  the  expulsion  of  their  brethren  and  fathers. 

"  Whilst  the  prosecuting  committee  were  engaged 
in  examining  the  'Mutual  Rights'  and  preparing 
charges,  another  part  of  the  plan  was  developed.  A 
meeting  of  all  the  male  members  belonging  to  the  two 
stations,  exclusive  of  reformers,  was  called  on  the 
7th  of  August,  in  the  little  old  Baptist  meeting 
house  on  Pitt  street.  At  that  meeting  a  resolution 
was  passed  approving  of  the  conduct  of  the  con- 
ference in  Mr.  Dorsey's  case;  and  an  'address,' 
which  had  been  previously  prepared  by  a  deserter 
from  the  ranks  of  reform,  was  read,  and  ordered  to 
be  published,  in  which  the  members  of  the  Union 
Society,  and  other  reformers,  were  denounced  as 
'  enemies  to  Methodism,'  &c.  One  of  them  in 
particular  was  named,  and   assailed  in  the  most 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  155 

intemperate,  unchristian  and  abusive  language.  The 
conduct  of  the  preachers  in  charge,  who  had  ex- 
cluded the  fourteen  preachers  from  the  pulpits,  was 
also  approved  and  sanctioned  by  the  meeting.  The 
obvious  and  immediate  design  of  this  meeting  was 
to  prepare  the  people  to  witness  the  excommunication 
of  their  friends  and  relatives,  without  those  feelings 
of  abhorrence  and  indignation  which  flagrant  acts  of 
injustice  and  cruelty  were  calculated  to  inspire  in  the 
bosom  of  every  pious  man  and  woman  in  the  city. 

"  By  the  first  of  September  Mr.  Hanson  was  ready 
with  his  select  committees  of  trial;  one  to  suspend 
the  preachers,  and  the  other  to  condemn  the  lay- 
men. There  were  nine  persons  on  the  two  com- 
mittees, three  preachers  and  six  laymen,  all  of 
whom  had  assisted  to  appoint  the  members  of  the 
prosecuting  committee,  at  the  meeting  held  in  the 
schoolroom;  and  had  prejudged  and  condemned  the 
members  of  the  Union  Society  at  the  meeting  held 
in  the  little  Baptist  church  above  referred  to  on  the 
7th  of  August.  Some  of  them  had  publicly  de- 
clared that  '  if  they  had  the  power  they  would  ex- 
pel every  member  of  the  Union  Society  from  the 
church.'  Yet  these  men  were  selected  by  Mr. 
Hanson  to  act  as  jurors  to  condemn,  that  he  might 
expel  the  members  of  the  Union  Societ}r,  and  wTere 
retained  by  him  on  the  trials,  notwithstanding  they 
were  repeatedly  objected  to  on  these  very  accounts."* 

Such  were  the  preparations  made  in  Baltimore 
by  the  opposers  of  reform,  and  such  were  the  men 

*  See  History  of  the  M.  P.  Church  by  Rev.  James  R.  Williams, 
pp.  166—69. 


156  HISTORY    OF    THE 

before  whom  the  friends  of  mutual  rights  were  to  be 
brought  forth  and  tried  in  the  church  of  God  for 
their  opinions  upon  church  polity.  After  reading 
the  preceding  graphic  description,  given  by  one 
who  was  of  the  number  doomed  to  martyrdom, 
the  conclusion  is  irrestibly  forced  upon  us,  that  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Hanson  and  his  compeers  in  the  work  of 
proscription  fondly  looked  forward  to  no  other  issue 
than  that  which  they  finally  obtained,  viz :  the  ex- 
pulsion from  the  church  of  the  Redeemer  of  those 
faithful  ministers  and  members  for  the  onerous  sin 
of  differing  with  them  in  opinion  upon  the  subject  of 
church  polity. 

Early  in  September  the  arrangements  appear  to 
have  been  completed,  arjfl  Mr.  Hanson  entered 
vigorously  upon  the  campaign  of  his  unholy  cru- 
sade. The  following  notice  was  sent,  to  each  of  the 
accused.  The  subjoined  is  a  copy  of  the  one  sent 
to  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings. 

Baltimore,  September  8,  1827. 

Rev.  Sir, — You  are  hereby  informed  that  charges 
have  been  preferred  against  you  by  the  following 
persons,  J.  Rogers,  S.  Hardin,  J.  Berry,  I.  N.  Toy, 
A.  Yearly,  G.  Earnest  and  F.  Israel. 

As  it  is  desirable  for  the  satisfaction  of  all  who 
feel  an  interest  in  the  matter  that  a  hearing  should 
be  had  as  soon  as  practicable,  it  is  hoped  that 
Tuesday  evening  next,  at  7  o'clock,  will  suit  your 
convenience.  Yours  respectfully, 

James  M.  Hanson. 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


157 


To  the  foregoing  note  the  following  reply  was 
returned: 

I  have  also  to  say  to  you  that  the  nature  of  my 
defence  will  make  it  imperiously  necessary  for  me 
to  correspond  with  the  several  writers,  for  the  pub- 
lication of  whose  papers,  as  one  of  the  editors  of  a 
periodical  work,  I  am  called  to  give  an  account. 
This  circumstance,  together  with  other  and  very 
important  parts  of  my  intended  defence,  will  neces- 
sarily require  a  good  deal  of  time.  A  proper  sense 
of  justice  on  the  part  of  the  executive,  therefore,  will 
certainly  protect  me  against  the  violence  of  being 
urged  to  too  hasty  a  hearing. 

I  am,  &c.  S.  K.  Jennings. 

Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson. 

Dr.  Jennings  was  a  member  of  the  Baltimore 
Union  Society,  and  a  member  of  the  editorial  com- 
mittee, and  as  a  matter  of  course  was  deemed  by  Mr. 
Hanson  a  friend  and  patron  of  the  Mutual  Rights — 
upon  this  the  charges  and  specifications  against 
him  were  all  based,  and  in  order  to  his  defence,  it 
was  important  in  his  case  that  he  should  have  some 
correspondence  with  the  writers  of  those  articles  in 
the  Mutual  Rights,  which  were  regarded  so  objec- 
tionable by  the  men  in  power.  But  this  boon  was 
denied  him.     Hear  Mr.  Hanson  in  reply. 

"I  am  no  less  astonished  that  you  should  think  it 

all-important  to  your  intended  defence,  to  have  a 

correspondence  with  the  writers   of  those  pieces 

which  the  brethren  above  alluded  to  have  desig-. 

14 


158  HISTORY   OF    THE 

nated.  The  sentiments  and  expressions  which  are 
deemed  exceptionable  have  been  published  to  the 
world  and  speak  for  themselves.  With  the  writers 
for  the  "Mutual  Rights,"  scattered  as  they  are  over 
the  continent,  the  charges  in  question  have  no  im- 
mediate concern ;  nor  is  it  easy  to  see  how  these 
writers  are  to  render  you  any  assistance.  They 
can  furnish  no  testimony — they  can  undo  nothing 
that  you,  as  a  member  of  the  editorial  committee 
may  have  done;  and  without  designing  to  flatter,  I 
may  be  permitted  to  say  they  can  place  the  subject 
in  question  in  no  light  in  which  it  has  not  appeared 
to  your  own  mind  ;  seeing  that  it  has  been  with  you 
a  subject  of  close  and  deep  deliberation  for  several 
years.  Under  these  impressions,  and  desirous,  for 
the  good  of  all  concerned,  to  bring  the  matter  to  as 
speedy  an  issue  as  is  consistent  with  a  proper  sense 
of  justice,  it  is  deemed  altogether  unadvisable  to  fix 
upon  any  period  for  investigation  beyond  Monday 
17th,  at  7  o'clock  P.  M.         I  am,  Sec. 

James  M.  Hanson. 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings. 

P.  S.  Should  you  prefer  any  evening  prior  to 
the  time  above  mentioned,  be  good  enough  to  let 
us  know.  J.  M.  H. 

Accordingly  on  the  17th  of  September,  1827,  the 
trial  of  Dr.  Jennings  came  on.  Rev.  James  M. 
Hanson  in  the  chair.  Rev.  Samuel  Williams,  John 
W.  Harris  and  Thomas  Basford,  committee. 

Mr.  Israel,  on  the  part  of  the  prosecution,  opened 
the  case  as  follows : 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  159 

I  have  nothing  personal  against  Dr.  Jennings,  I 
have  the  highest  regard  and  personal  esteem  for 
him.  I  regret  that  this  course  was  unavoidable. 
We  had  no  other  alternative.  We  were  driven  to 
this  course.  We  have  been  told  by  the  members  of 
the  Union  Society  that  they  must  have  lay  delega- 
tion. They  say,  also,  they  will  never  withdraw 
from  the  church.  Lay  delegation  we  believe  is  not 
practicable  or  expedient.  With  these  views  we 
never  can  agree;  we  are  as  distant  as  the  poles. 
The  Mutual  Rights  have  produced  wranglings,  dis- 
putations and  division.  Are  there  not  two  parties? 
Every  religious  community  has  a  right  to  form  its 
own  discipline,  and  its  members  are  not  at  liberty 
to  disturb  it.  While  they  remain  members  of  the 
church,  they  have  no  right  to  form  and  be  members 
of  the  Union  Society.  We  claim  what  we  conceive 
to  be  a  right  of  ours,  and  we  ought  to  be  left  in  the 
peaceable  enjoyment  of  our  rights. 

The  rules  which  we  think  have  been  violated 
are  to  be  found  on  pages  7S  and  91  of  the  Disci- 
pline, as  designated  in  the  charges  and  specifications 
upon  which  this  trial  is  founded ;  and  we  refer  to 
the  Mutual  Rights  in  extenso  in  proof  of  the  charges. 
But  more  particularly  to  the  references  which  are 
appended  to  the  specifications. 

CHARGES   AND    SPECIFICATIONS. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  K.  Jennings  is  charged 
with  endeavoring  to  sow  dissensions  in  the  society 
or  church  in  this  station  or   city,  known   by  the 


160  HISTORY    OF    THE 

name  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  with 
the  violation  of  that  general  rule  of  the  Discipline  of 
the  said  church  or  society  which  prohibits  its  mem- 
bers from  doing  harm,  and  requires  them  to  avoid 
evil  of  every  kind;  and  especially  with  violating 
that  clause  of  said  general  rule  which  prohibits 
speaking  evil  of  ministers. 

Specification  1st.  Because  the  said  Samuel 
K.  Jennings,  while  a  member  and  a  local  preacher 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  aforesaid,  did 
heretofore  attach  himself  to  and  become  a  member 
of  the  society  called  the  Union  Society  of  the  city  of 
Baltimore ;  which  Union  Society  is  in  opposition  to 
the  Discipline,  in  whole  or  in  part,  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  aforesaid. 

Specification  2d.  Because  of  the  said  Samuel  K. 
Jennings,  as  a  member  of  said  Union  Society, 
directly  or  indirectly,  either  by  pecuniary  contribu- 
tions or  his  personal  influence,  aiding,  abetting,  co- 
operating or  assisting  in  the  publication  and  circu- 
lation of  a  work  called  "The  Mutual  Rights  of 
the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,"  printed  under  the  direction  of  an 
editorial  committee,  (of  which  the  said  S.  K.  Jen- 
nings is  or  lately  was  one,)  appointed  by,  or  who  are 
members  of  the  Union  Society  aforesaid,  which 
work  or  publication,  called  "The  Mutual  Rights  of 
the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church"  contains  (among  other  things)  much 
that  inveighs  against  the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  aforesaid,  in  whole  or  in  part, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  161 

and  is  in  direct  opposition  thereto;  and  that  is 
abusive  or  speaks  evil  of  a  part,  if  not  of  most  of  the 
ministers  of  that  church.  The  general  tendency  of 
which  work  or  publication  has  been  to  produce  dis- 
agreement, strife,  contention  and  breach  of  union 
among  the  members  of  said  church  in  this  city  or 
station. 

Specification  3d.  Because  the  said  Samuel  K. 
Jennings,  as  a  member  of  the  Union  Society 
aforesaid,  did  devise,  request,  or  recommend,  the 
publication  of  a  pamphlet  entitled  "  The  History 
and  Mystery  of  Methodist  Episcopacy,"  written  by 
the  Rev.  Alexander  McCaine,  in  which  various  de- 
clarations and  assertions  are  made  without  proper 
proof  or  just  foundation,  calculated  to  disgrace  and 
bring  reproach  upon  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
aforesaid,  its  ministers  and  members ;  and  which 
declarations  and  assertions  are  well  calculated  to 
produce,  increase,  and  heighten  the  disagreement, 
strife,  contention  and  breach  of  union  alluded  to  in 
the  2d  specification. 

For  proof  of  which,  the  publication  entitled  "  The 
Mutual  Rights  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church"  is  referred  to,  and 
particularly, 

No.  1,  page  31,  Constitution  of  the  Union  Society  of  Baltimore. 
"    7,      "    261,  Essays  on  church  property,  Nos.  1  &2,  by  Rev, 

N.  Snethen. 
"  25,     '•      26,  Joseph  Walker's  letter,  Alabama. 
"  27,    "      53,  Luther  on  Representation. 
"29,    "    100,  Timothy's  Address  to  Junior  Bishop. 
"  30,    "    147,  Dissenter. 
14* 


162  HISTORY    OF    THE 

No.  32,  page  199,  Rev.  A.  Shinn's  Appeal. 
"  33,  "  214,  Granville  Union  Society. 
"  34,     "    270,  Vindex. 

Sovereignty  of  Methodism  in  the  south. 
"    "       "    248,  Address  of  N.  Snethen. 
"  35,     "    277,  Union  Society  on  D.  B.  Dorsey's  case. 
"  36,     "    301,  Address. 
«    "       "    300,  Neale. 
"    "       "    322,  Centreville  proceedings. 

And  also  the  said  pamphlet,  entitled  "  The  His- 
tory and  IVtystery  of  Methodist  Episcopacy,  with 
such  other  documentary  or  oral  proof  as  the  under- 
signed may  deem  expedient  to  exhibit  or  produce. 
Signed  George  Earnest,  Jacob  Rogers,  Samuel 
Harden,  Isaac  N.  Toy,  Alexander  Yearly,  Fielder 
Israel  and  John  Berry. 
Baltimore,  September  7,  1827. 

Doctor  Jennings  in  the  first  place  made  a  formal 
protest  against  the  competency  of  the  court  which 
Mr.  Hanson  convened,  upon  the  grounds  of  its  want 
of  jurisdiction  in  the  case;  that  the  charges  and 
specifications  upon  which  he  was  arraigned  consti- 
tuted a  case  entirely  new  ;  that,  in  despite  of  all 
sophistry,  it  would  be  so  considered  by  impartial 
judges.  He  objected  both  to  the  competency  and 
the  right  of  the  tribunal  to  try  the  questions  involved 
in  the  case,  and  declared  that  he  would  "consider 
it  an  executive  usurpation  of  exposl  facto  legislative 
authority."  But  Mr.  Hanson  made  known  his  de- 
termination to  proceed. 

The  doctor  now  protested  against  the  proceed- 
ings upon  the  grounds  of  the  impossibility  of  a  fair 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  163 

and  disinterested  trial — that  sentence  was  already 
pronounced  by  the  men  who  were  to  sit  in  judgment. 
That  his  prosecutors  had  referred  almost  exclu- 
sively to  papers  published  in  the  '•Mutual  Rights," 
likewise  to  "  The  History  and  Mystery  of  Meth- 
odist Episcopacy,"  written  by  Rev.  A.  McCaine. 
For  proof  of  the  true  position  of  the  men  who  were 
to  sit  as  his  judges,  he  referred  to  a  pamphlet,  whose 
manuscript,  written  by  Dr.  Bond,  and  the  rest  of 
that  committee,  had  the  sanction  and  vote  of  the 
meeting  at  the  corner  of  Pitt  and  Front  streets,  a 
meeting  of  the  old  side  brethren,  when  and  where 
these  three  brethren  of  the  committee  acted  and 
voted  with  them  as  they  now  admit."  That  by 
that  vote  they  had  virtually  condemned  and  placed 
their  seal  of  disapprobation  both  upon  the  "  Mutual 
Rights  "  and  the  "  History  and  Mystery  of  Method- 
ist Episcopacy."  That,  with  these  evidences  before 
him,  there  was  an  impossibility  of  this  committee 
being  able  to  give  an  impartial  hearing  in  the 
case. 

But  Mr.  Hanson  decided  that  that  vote  which 
they  had  given  did  not  disqualify  them  for  acting 
on  the  committee. 

Dr.  Jennings  then  entered  his  third  protest,  in 
which  he  objected  to  the  whole  of  the  proceedings  as 
being  illegal,  and  totally  at  variance  with  the  usages 
and  spirit  of  Methodism,  in  which  he  took  very 
general  grounds. 

But  to  all  human  appearances  the  die  had  been 
cast,  for  the  chairman  overruled  all  objections  ;  the 


164  HISTORY    OF    THE 

trial  proceeded — the  doctor  was  pronounced  guilty 
of  the  specifications,  and  suspended  from  the  exer- 
cise of  his  ministerial  functions. 

From  an  attentive  perusal  of  the  specifications 
alleged  against  Dr.  Jennings,  there  appears  to  be  an 
entire  absence  of  any  thing  bearing  a  semblance  of 
immorality.  If  he  had  become  a  member  of  the 
Union  Society,  he  violated  no  rule  of  discipline  in  so 
doing.  If  he  had  contributed  either  Directly  or  in- 
directly to  the  support  of  the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  he 
violated  no  rule  or  obligation.  That  periodical  had 
for  its  object  the  welfare  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church.  If  he  had  advised,  recommended  or 
requested  the  publication  of  "  The  History  and 
Mystery  of  Methodist  Episcopacy,"  written  by  Rev. 
A.  McCaine,  that  is  a  work  which  exhibits  much 
learning,  deep  research,  able  arguments ;  and  sets 
forth  truth  in  so  clear  and  masterly  a  manner  that 
all  the  arguments  and  sophistry  of  the  votaries  of 
Methodist  Episcopacy  disappear  before  it  like  the 
vapors  before  the  midday  sun ;  and  it  is  a  work  which 
any  may  read  to  advantage  and  profit.  But  this 
third  and  last  specification  has  been  pronounced  by 
history  to  be  "  notoriously  untrue." 

We  have  presented  before  the  reader  the  charges 
alleged  and  the  measures  adopted  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Hanson  in  the  trial  of  Dr.  Jennings,  inasmuch  as 
they  are  nearly  similar  or  amount  to  the  same  as 
those  alleged  against  the  other  reformers  of  Balti- 
more  who  were  brought  to  trial. 

iMr.  Hanson  proceeded  in  his  work  with  a  zeal 


METHODIST   FROTESTANT    CHURCH.  165 

that  might  challenge  that  of  Archbishop  Laud  in  the 
"  Star  Chamber,"  for  in  a  few  days  eleven  minis- 
ters and  twenty-two  laymen  were  expelled  from  the 
communion  of  the  church.  "  The  Rev.  A.  McCaine 
was  tried  separately,  in  his  absence,  by  a  com- 
mittee selected  by  Mr.  Hanson,  composed  of  three 
of  the  most  illiterate  local  preachers,  perhaps,  in  the 
state  of  Maryland,  and  suspended.  The  preachers 
carried  up  their  cases  to  the  District  Conference 
that  sat  on  the  26th  December,  1S27,  which  was 
their  proper  court  of  trial.  Here  they  expected  to 
have  justice  done  them,  as  a  majority  of  the  confer- 
ence were  reformers.  But  on  the  morning  of  the 
second  day,  after  holding  a  caucus  the  preceding 
evening,  the  presiding  elder,  with  a  minority  of  the 
conference  and  the  votes  of  nine  colored  men,  who 
were  not  entitled  to  a  vole,  dissolved  the  District 
Conference,  and  ordered  the  preachers  to  appear  at 
the  Quarterly  Conference  and  stand  their  trials. 
Indignant  at  this  unexpected  act  of  injustice,  the 
preachers  determined  not  to  appear  before  the 
Quarterly  Conference,  but  to  appeal  to  the  ap- 
proaching Annual  Conference  against  the  arbitrary 
and  illegal  proceedings  of  the  presiding  elder.  In 
the  meantime  the  Quarterly  Conference  expelled 
them  all."* 

The  following  extract  from  the  "  Mutual  Rights," 
will  exhibit  a  concise  view  of  the  course  pursued 
by  the  parties  during  the  "  reign  of  terror." 

*See  History  of  the  M.  P.  Church  by  Rev.  J.  R.  Williams, 
pp.  192— 93.   " 


166  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  The  men  in  power  here  are  going  on  calling  to 
their  bar  the  members  of  the  Union  Society,  to  an- 
swer to  the  charges  and  specifications  which  they 
have  contrived  to  get  up.  Sometimes  two  are  tried 
in  one  day ;  and  we  are  in  a  fair  way  to  afford  them 
ample  employment.  Since  they  began  to  summon 
us  we  have  admitted  more  new  members  than  they 
have  been  able  to  try.  The  world  can  now  under- 
stand them ;  their  determination  is,  that  the  only 
condition  of  fellowship  with  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  shall  be  unqualified  and  silent  submission. 
They  are  determined  to  put  down  the  Union  Socie- 
ties and  mutual  rights.  These  institutions  have  too 
much  influence  over  the  people,  they  talk  too  much 
about  liberty  for  the  power  party,  who  are  deter- 
mined, it  would  seem,  to  prevent  a  representation, 
if  they  lose  half  of  the  members.  They  have  re- 
moved all  the  reforming  class-leaders ;  and  so  by 
the  expulsion  of  the  members  of  the  Union  Society, 
and  the  retirement  of  members  who  will  be  dis- 
gusted by  such  doings,  there  will  be  great  mischief 
done." 

The  local  preachers  being  notified  by  the  presid- 
ing elder  of  the  Baltimore  District,  Rev.  Mr.  Frye, 
of  his  intention  to  bring  before  the  Quarterly  Con- 
ference of  the  city  station  the  charges  and  specifi- 
cations for  which  they  had  been  suspended,  made 
a  formal  protest  against  the  illegality  of  such  a  step 
being  taken  ;  alleging,  as  the  grounds  of  their  pro- 
test, that  he  had  dissolved  the  District  Conference, 
(before  which  alone  their  case  could   have  been 


METHODIST  PROTESTANT  CHURCH. 


167 


legally  considered,)  by  counting  the  votes  of  colored 
men,  said  to  be  without  precedent  in  the  State  of 
Maryland. 

A  memorial  was  also  sent  up,  by  all  who  were 
expelled  in  Baltimore,  to  the  Baltimore  Annual 
Conference,  which  assembled  in  Carlisle,  in  April, 
1828.  But  that  conference  not  only  confirmed  the 
act  of  Messrs.  Hanson  &  Co.  in  the  expulsion  of  the 
memorialists,  but  likewise  expelled  the  Rev.  Dennis 
B.  Dorsey  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  C.  Pool,  for  charges 
of  a  similar  nature. 

The  brethren  that  were  thus  prosecuted  and  ex- 
pelled from  the  M.  E.  Church  in  Baltimore,  on  ac- 
count of  their  reform  principles,  were  among  the 
oldest,  most  exemplary  and  faithful  supporters  of  the 
worship  and  doctrines  of  that  communion.  We 
subjoin  a  list  showing  the  number  of  years  each  one 
had  been  a  member  of  the  church. 


John  Chappell, 

46 

Rev.  Luther  J.  Cox, 

19 

Rev.  D.  E.  Reese, 

33 

Joseph  R.  Forman, 

19 

Thomas  Jarrett, 

32 

Rev.  John  S.  Reese, 

17 

Rev.  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings, 

30 

Thomas  Mummey, 

16 

Samuel  Jarrett, 

30 

Rev.  Thomas  McCormick, 

16 

Rev.  James  R.  Williams.. 

,27 

Thomas  Patterson, 

16 

"    John  Valiant, 

27 

John  Paul, 

15 

"    William  Kesley, 

26 

George  Northerman, 

15 

Lambert  Thomas, 

26 

Samuel  Guest, 

14 

William  K.  Boyle, 

25 

J.  H.  W.  Hawkins, 

12 

Arthur  Emerson, 

25 

Samuel  Thompson, 

12 

John  Kennard, 

23 

Thomas  Parsons, 

12 

Samuel  Krebs, 

22 

Rev.  R.  T.  Boyd, 

11 

John  J.  Harrod, 

20 

John  P.  Howard, 

10 

Rev.  John  C.  French, 

20 

Ebenezer  Strahan, 

8 

"Wesley  Starr, 

20 

Levi  R.  Reese, 

4 

168  HISTORY    OF   THE 

It  would  appear  from  the  preceding  schedule 
that  neither  office,  nor  station,  nor  piety,  nor  zeal, 
nor  talents,  nor  services,  nor  usefulness,  nor  age 
could  screen  a  member  of  the  church  from  expul- 
sion, if  he  was  brought  before  Mr.  Hanson's  com- 
mittee for  the  crime  of  being  a  member  of  the  Union 
Society.  And  it  no  doubt  will  astonish  the  pious 
reader  to  learn  that  such  events  were  enacted  in 
the  M.  E.  Church,  in  these  United  States,  as  late  as 
the  year  1827. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


169 


CHAPTER    V. 

Association  of  the  expelled  reformers  in  Baltimore. — Declaration 
set  forth,  and  withdrawal  of  ladies  in  the  city. — General  Con- 
vention of  reformers  in  Baltimore  in  1827. — Schedule  of  Union 
Societies. — Resolutions  of  Roanoke  Union  Society. — Letter  of 
Rev.  William  Compton  to  that  body. — Review  of  the  letter  by 
Committee  of  Correspondence. 

The  expelled  brethren,  in  being  thus  divested  of 
church  fellowship,  united  themselves  together  un- 
der the  following  instrument  of  association,  in  order 
to  secure  to  themselves  and  friends  Christian 
communion : 

COPY    OF   THE    INSTRUMENT 

Under  which  the  expelled  members  and  ministers  in 
Baltimore  united,  "in  order  to  pray  together,  to  receive 
the  word  of  exhortation,  and  to  watch  over  one  another 
in  love,  that  they  might  help  each  other  to  work  out  their 
salvation." 

We,  the  undersigned,  formerly  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, having  been  excluded  from  the  fellowship  of 
that  body,  by  what  we  believe  to  be  an  unjustifiable 
process,  based  upon  insufficient  charges,  and  those 
charges  not  sustained  by  competent  testimony, 
have,  for  the  present,  agreed  to  unite  together  as  a 
society  of  original  Methodists,  under  the  "  General 
Rules  of  the  United  Societies,"  prepared  by  the 
15 


170  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Rev.  John  and  Charles  Wesley.  Our  object  is  to 
wait  and  see  whether  the  present  abuses  in  the 
administration  of  the  government  will  be  cor- 
rected. If  they  should,  and  freedom  of  inquiry  and 
public  discussion  be  permitted  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  it  would  afford  us  pleasure  to 
return;  provided  we  can  do  so  without  relinquishing 
the  opinions  for  which  we  have  been  excluded, 
namely,  an  honest  and,  as  we  believe,  enlightened 
conviction  that  the  present  form  of  government  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  so  far  as  it  pre- 
cludes the  grand  principle  of  representation,  and 
confines  all  legislative,  executive  and  judicial  pow- 
ers to  the  itinerant  ministry,  is  unscriptural  and 
anti-Christian;  and  that  reform  in  the  government 
of  said  church  is  necessary,  in  order  to  its- essential 
and  permanent  prosperity.  With  these  views,  we 
solemnly  unite  in  the  name  of  the  Great  Head  of 
the  church,  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ, 
receiving  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  our  guide ;  and 
for  prudential  purposes  adopting  as  an  instrument 
of  union  the  "  General  Rules  "  of  Messrs.  John  and 
Charles  Wesley,  with  such  subsequent  regulations 
as  our  peculiar  circumstances  may  from  time  to 
time  require. 

John  Chappell,  Ebenezer  Strahan, 

John  J.  Harrod,  John  H.  W.  Hawkins, 

Wesley  Starr,  Thomas  Patterson, 

John  Kennard,  Samuel  Krebs, 

William  K.  Boyle,         Thomas  Parsons, 
Arthur  Emmerson,        Thomas  Jarrett, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  171 

John  Gephart,  jr.,  Joseph  K.  Forman, 

John  P.  Howard,  George  Northerman, 

Levi  R.  Reese,  Samuel  Thompson, 

Lambert  Thomas,  Samuel  Guest, 

Samuel  Jarrett,  John  P.  Paul. 
Baltimore,  December  23,  1827. 

We,  the  undersigned,  elders,  deacons  and  li- 
censed preachers,  subscribe  our  names  respectively 
to  the  foregoing  instrument,  approving  the  objects 
contemplated  therein. 

Samuel  K.  Jennings,         Luther  J.  Cox, 
Daniel  E.  Reese,  John  S.  Reese, 

James  R.  Williams,  John  C.  French, 

William  Kesley,  Reuben  T.  Boyd. 

Thomas  McCormick, 
Baltimore,  January  26,  1828. 

We  now  come  to  record  an  act  which,  for  mag- 
nanimity of  purpose,  will  justly  challenge  a  paral- 
lel in  church  history.  It  is  the  course  pursued  and 
the  measures  adopted  by  the  ladies  of  Baltimore  on 
account  of  the  fatal  results  attending  the  ad  minis- 
tration  of  Mr.  Hanson,  in  the  expulsion  of  their 
"husbands,  fathers,"  &c,  from  the  church  of  their 
choice.  The  firmness  and  moderation  which  they 
evinced,  and  the  zeal  and  devotedness  which  they 
exhibited  under  the  circumstances,  are  above  all 
praise. 

Baltimore,  December  31,  1827. 

At  a  meeting  of  female  members  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  convened  at  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jen- 
nings's, for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration 


172  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  most  advisable  course  to  be  pursued  by  the 
wives  and  friends  of  those  members  of  said  church 
who  have  been  expelled,  and  of  those  ministers  who 
are  suspended  by  the  official  members  of  the  Balti- 
more Station,  for  the  sake  of  reform ;  the  meet- 
ing was  opened  with  prayer ;  and,  on  motion, 
Mrs.  Rebecca  Hall  was  called  to  the  chair,  and 
Mrs.  Wesley  Woods  was  appointed  secretary. 

On  motion,  resolved,  that  the  members  of  this 
meeting  deeply  regret  the  necessity  of  withdrawing 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church ;  yet,  from  a 
conviction  of  duty,  we  do  hereby  resolve  to  with- 
draw from  said  church,  when  our  husbands,  fathers 
or  friends  shall  have  been  expelled. 

On  motion,  resolved,  that  a  committee  of  nine  be 
appointed  to  consider  and  report  on  the  most  ad- 
visable measures  to  be  adopted  by  those  females 
who  have  determined  to  withdraw  from  the  church. 
The  following  were  appointed  said  committee,  viz : 
Mrs.  Mummey,  Mrs.  Jennings,  Mrs.  Harrod,  Mrs. 
Woods,  Mrs.  French,  Mrs.  Kennard,  Mrs.  Reese, 
Miss  L.  Martin  and  Mrs.  Owens.  ! 

The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  give  the  commit- 
tee time  to  prepare  and  report  such  measures  as 
they  may  deem  most  advisable. 

Rebecca  Hall,  President. 

Mary  Ann  Woods,  Secretary. 

Monday,  January  7,  1828. 
The  meeting  convened  for  the  purpose  of  hearing 
the  report  of  the  committee.     The  following  report 
was  read  and  unanimously  adopted : 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  173 

REPORT. 

The  committee  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  best 
n.easures  to  be  adopted  by  the  female  friends  of 
reform  in  the  government  of  the  M.  E.  Church 
in  this  city,  to  secure  their  present  peace  and  union, 
aid  their  future  happiness,  have  had  the  subject 
uider  serious  and  deliberate  consideration,  and 
b<g  leave  to  report  that,  inasmuch  as  it  was  unani- 
mously resolved  at  our  meeting  on  the  31st  Decem- 
ber, that  on  the  expulsion  of  our  husbands,  fathers, 
&-.,  we  would  feel  it  our  duty  to  withdraw  from 
tie  church  and  unite  with  our  expelled  friends,  it 
i:  expedient,  in  the  opinion  of  your  committee,  that 
the  wives,  daughters,  &c,  of  our  friends  and  breth- 
ren already  expelled  withdraw  from  the  church  ; 
and  that  all  who  determine  on  this  course  should 
address  a  joint  letter  to  Mr.  Hanson,  stating  their 
determination  to  withdraw,  and  assign  their  reasons 
fori  so  doing;  and  also  requesting  of  him  a  certifi- 
cate of  their  acceptable  membership. 

And  your  committee  further  beg  leave  to  submit 
the  following  as  the  form  of  a  suitable  instrument  to 
be  adopted  and  subscribed  by  the  females  who  may 
withdraw  from  the  church  : 

DECLARATION. 

The  subscribers,  members  of  the  methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  believing 
that  the  form  of  government  in  said  church  is,  in 
some  of  its  features,  contrary  to  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  and  that  it  deprives  a  large  proportion  of  the 
15* 


174  HISTORY    OP    THE 

ministers  and  members  of  said  church  of  their 
natural  and  Christian  rights ;  and  believing  t'lat 
the  ruling  authorities  in  this  city  have  grealy 
abused  the  power  they  hold,  to  the  injury  of  relig'nn, 
in  that  they  have  suspended  eleven  local  preachers, 
by  what  we  consider  improper  measures,  for  aidng 
the  cause  of  reform,  and  have  expelled  twenty-t.vo 
lay  members  for  the  same  cause,  and  have  treaed 
others  hardly  whom  they  have  not  expelled,  End 
have  for  the  same  cause  deprived  most  of  our  br- 
mer  class-leaders  of  their  official  standing;  which 
preachers,  members  and  leaders  are  our  compan- 
ions, fathers,  children,  or  highly  esteemed  brethrei, 
in  whom  we  have  the  fullest  Christian  confidence; 
and  by  these  means  they  have  created  a  state  of 
things  calculated  to  destroy  Christian  union  anc 
Christian  confidence.  Therefore,  for  these  and 
other  considerations,  we  have  determined  and 
hereby  do  agree  to  dissolve  for  the  present  our  con- 
nection with  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  by 
withdrawing  therefrom ;  and  that  we  will  address 
a  joint  letter  to  Rev.  J.  M.  Hanson,  expressive  of  our 
determination  to  this  effect,  and  request  of  him  a 
certificate  of  our  acceptable  standing  in  the  church. 
And  we  do  hereby  declare  that  we  have  been  im- 
pelled to  this  measure  only  by  existing  difficulties 
in  the  church ;  and  that  so  soon  as  those  difficulties 
shall  be  removed,  and  our  expelled  and  injured 
friends  shall  be  restored  to  the  enjoyment  of  their 
former  standing  and  privileges,  on  proper  and  Chris- 
tian principles,  it  will  be  our  delight  to  return  to 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  175 

the  church,  from  which  we  now  reluctantly  retire. 
We  farther  agree  that  until  the  way  of  our  return 
shall  become  practicable,  or  the  opening  of  Provi- 
dence shall  mark  out  to  us  some  other  way,  we 
will  unite  in  Christian  communion  and  religious 
worship  with  each  other,  and  with  our  brethren  and 
sisters  who  have  been  or  may  be  persecuted  from 
the  church  for  reform  principles. 

And  finally  we  hereby  declare  that  we  have  not 
been  influenced  to  adopt  this  measure  by  the  per- 
suasion or  other  means  of  our  husbands,  relatives  or 
friends,  but  from  a  deliberate  and  settled  conviction 
of  duty  to  our  God,  ourselves,  and  our  injured 
friends  and  brethren.  We  therefore  hereby  sol- 
emnly unite  ourselves  together  for  the  reasons  and 
for  the  purposes  before  named,  with  a  firm  reliance 
on  the  support  and  assistance  of  Almightj''  God  in 
this  important  duty  and  engagement. 

The  committee  further  beg  leave  to  offer  the  fol- 
lowing as  a  suitable  form  of  a  letter,  to  be  sent  to 
the  preacher  in  charge  of  this  station,  by  those 
females  who  may  determine  to  withdraw  from  the 
church. 

The  letter,  after  receiving  the  signatures  append- 
ed, was  presented  to  Mr.  Hanson  on  the  Saturday 
preceding  the  lovefeast. 

Rev.  James  M.  Hanson: 

We,  the  subscribers,  female  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  the  city  of  Balti- 


176  HISTORY    OF    THE 

more,  feel  ourselves  under  the  necessity  of  address- 
ing you  on  a  subject  peculiarly  painful.  For  a  series 
of  years  we  have  been  endeavoring,  in  our  humble 
sphere,  to  serve  God  and  make  our  way  to  heaven. 
And  long  since  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
became  the  home  of  our  choice,  where  we  had 
fondly  hoped  to  dwell  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of 
the  means  of  grace  and  the  ordinances  of  Christiani- 
ty, to  the  end  of  life.  In  this  church  our  dearest 
Christian  associations  and  religious  friendships  were 
formed,  and  flourished.  Our  hopes,  our  fears,  our 
wishes,  all  were  identified  with  the  church  of  our 
choice.  Around  all  her  ordinances,  her  services, 
her  ministers,  our  best  affections  were  entwined;  and 
for  her  peace  and  prosperity  our  daily  prayers  were 
offered  to  a  throne  of  grace.  This  preference  was 
not  given  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  be- 
cause we  considered  her  government  more  perfect 
than  that  of  others;  for,  indeed,  we  were  no  more 
careful  to  inquire  into  that  subject  than  our  preachers 
were  to  give  us  instruction  concerning  it;  but  our 
preference  grew  out  of  the  purity  of  her  doctrines, 
the  piety  of  her  members,  the  excellence  of  her 
moral  discipline,  and  her  itinerant  plan.  And 
though  recent  events  have  led  us  to  examine,  more 
closely  than  heretofore,  the  Methodist  Discipline, 
and  this  examination  has  resulted  in  a  conviction  of 
its  defectiveness,  in  many  particulars,  yet  we  could 
have  borne  those  comparatively  trivial  inconve- 
niences, and  could  have  lived  happily  in  the  bosom 
of  the  church  all  our  da3rs,  nor  had  we  thought  of 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  177 

forsaking  her  communion  until  death,  but  for  recent 
occurrences  which  have  taken  place  under  your 
administration  and  superintendence.  But,  sir,  to 
see  a  large  number  of  our  highly  esteemed  local 
preachers  excluded  from  the  pulpits,  arraigned,  con- 
demned and  excommunicated,  and  the  seal  of  official 
silence  set  upon  the  lips  which  have  so  often  con- 
veyed heavenly  consolation  to  our  minds  and  hearts ; 
to  see  our  beloved  class-leaders  torn  from  us,  and 
deprived  of  their  official  standing,  and  a  large 
number  of  our  lay-brethren  expelled  without  a 
crime ;  and  to  see  the  unwarrantable  measures  by 
which  these  distressing  results  have  been  effected, 
is  too  painful  for  us!  In  short,  to  find  our  dear 
companions,  fathers,  brothers,  children  and  friends 
treated  as  criminals  and  enemies,  prosecuted,  sus- 
pended and  expelled ;  denounced  as  backsliders 
and  disturbers  of  the  peace ;  and  to  be  ourselves 
treated  coldly  and  distantly  by  our  former  friends, 
and  by  our  pastors;  and  all  for  a  mere  difference 
of  opinion  about  church  government,  is  more  than 
we  feel  bound  in  Christian  charity  longer  to  endure ; 
and  we,  therefore,  feel  it  our  duty,  in  the  fear  of 
God,  though  with  emotions  of  poignant  sorrow,  and 
with  aching  hearts,  to  withdraw  from  the  church 
of  our  choice  and  fondest  attachments.  To  this 
painful  resort  we  are  driven  by  the  measures  you 
have  taken  against  our  friends  and  brethren.  To 
remain  in  the  church  under  the  circumstances  now 
existing,  would  be  to  evince  a  want  of  filial,  connu- 
bial, and  fraternal  attachment  to  our  persecuted 
friends,  and  a  want  of  self-respect. 


178 


HISTORY    OP    THE 


We  therefore  request  you  to  consider  us  as  with- 
drawn from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and 
to  furnish  us  a  joint  or  individual  certificate  of  our 
acceptable  standing,  as  soon  as  convenient. 


Hannah  L.  Harrod, 
Catharine  Mummey, 
Guinilda  Mummey, 
Mary  Kemiard, 
Sarah  Krebs, 
Jane  Thomas, 
Elizabeth  Williams, 
Sarah  Williams, 
Elizabeth  Taylor, 
Mary  Williams, 
Frances  Williams, 
Catharine  Williams, 
Hannah  Jennings, 
Mary  O wings, 
Elizabeth  Crouch, 
Elinor  Gephart, 
Maria  Paul, 
Elizabeth  Forman, 
Phillippa  Starr, 
Rachel  Hawkins, 
Elizabeth  Baxley, 
Susan  Guest, 
Sarah  Emmerson, 
Elizabeth  Valiant, 


Isabella  Northerman, 
Elizabeth  Kennard, 
Anna  Jarrett, 
Ruth  Reese, 
Rebecca  Reese, 
Margaret  Reese, 
Mary  Reese, 
Margaret  Patterson, 
Mary  French, 
Sidney  Boyd, 
Rebecca  Jane  Roberts, 
Lucy  Fore, 
Mary  Jane  Thomas, 
Jemima  Jones, 
Hannah  Martin, 
Letitia  M.  Martin, 
Maria  M.  Martin, 
Maria  Cox, 
Mary  Meads, 
Mary  Ann  Woods, 
Catharine  Wallace, 
Elizabeth  Brit, 
Mary  Ann  Valiant. 


Who  can  read  unmoved  the  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings of  these  excellent  Christian  ladies,  and  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  179 

course  they  pursued  when  their  "companions, 
fathers,  brothers,  children  and  friends,"  were  prose- 
cuted, suspended  and  expelled  from  the  church  ? 
Sensible  of  the  deep  injustice  done  to  those  whom 
they  held  most  dear,  they  prudently  took  the  praise- 
worthy resolution  to  follow  their  exiled  friends  into 
their  "  Patmos."  How  excellent  are  the  sentiments 
set  forth  in  their  declaration !  The  lovers  of  justice 
and  truth  may  here  read,  pause  and  admire! 

According  to  the  best  information  afforded  us, 
the  expelled  laymen  associated  themselves  together 
on  the  23d  December,  1827.  The  ministers  united 
with  them  January  26th,  1828,  and  the  ladies 
who  had  withdrawn  joined  the  association  a  few 
days  afterwards. 

This  was  no  doubt,  according  to  the  best  accounts 
the  first  society  formed  of  those  known,  for  the  space 
of  about  two  years,  by  the  name  of  the  Associated 
Methodist  Societies;  which,  upon  the  adoption  of 
the  Constitution,  took  the  name  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church. 

The  association  thus  formed,  "elected  the 
preachers  and  ministers  to  serve  in  the  same  rela- 
tions and  offices  they  respectively  held  prior  to  their 
expulsion,  and  the  instrument  declaring  this  fact 
was  recorded  in  the  clerk's  office,  Baltimore.  This 
act  was  deemed  necessary  to  guard  against  the 
effects  of  representations  made  to  the  community 
by  the  old  side  men,  that  being  deprived  of  mem- 
bership, their  parchments  became  null  and  void, 


180 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


and  consequently  their  ministerial  acts  would  be 
illegal."* 

The  high-handed  and  tyrannical  measures  of 
Mr.  Hanson  and  his  committee,  which  they  adopted 
to  effect  the  expulsion  of  the  reformers,  created 
quite  a  deep  sensation  throughout  the  Methodist 
community  in  the  United  States.  Union  societies 
and  churches,  upon  the  receipt  of  the  startling  intel- 
ligence, held  meetings  and  passed  resolutions  of 
abhorrence  and  condemnation  of  the  administration 
of  Rev.  James  M.  Hanson,  and  of  sympathy  for 
the  persecuted  reformers.  The  communications 
sent  to  the  Baltimore  Union  Society  from  north, 
south,  east  and  west,  were  respectful  in  their 
tenor;  and  coming  as  they  did  from  highly  respect- 
able and  influential  bodies  of  Christians,  they  could 
not  fail  to  strengthen  the  hearts  and  hands  of  the 
exiled  reformers.  These  numerous  addresses  of 
the  Union  Societies  may  be  found  in  the  fourth  vol- 
ume of  the  Mutual  Rights  for  1827-8. 

In  November,  1827,  a  general  convention  of  re- 
formers met  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  composed  of 
ministerial  and  lay  delegates  from  the  states  of  Ohio, 
Pennsylvania,  New  York,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina  and  the  District  of  Columbia.  One  hun- 
dred delegates  had  been  appointed  to  attend  this 
convention,  but  owing  to  the  circumstances  that 
generally  militate  against  the  assemblage  of  such  a 
body,  but  fifty-seven  were   in  attendance.     This 

*  Williams's  History  of  the  M.  P.  Church,  p.  210. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


181 


body  adopted  a  "memorial  to  the  General  Confer- 
ence," praying  for  a  joint  representation  from  the 
local  ministry  and  membership,  and  prepared  an 
address  to  the  Methodist  public,  both  of  which 
were  published  for  the  information  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Up  to  this  period,  about  twenty-four  Union  So- 
cieties had  been  formed,  according  to  the  best 
information  extant  upon  the  subject.  The  following 
statement  may  afford  some  idea  of  the  date  of  their 
organization,  as  well  as  of  their  locality : 

Baltimore  Union  Society,  formed  May  21st,  1824 

Roanoke,  N.  C,  Auxiliary  to  Baltimore  U.  S.,  Nov.  6,  1824 


Bedford  county,  Tennessee,  Auxiliary, 

.     1825 

Cincinnati,  Ohio, 

" 

1826 

N.  York,  Western  U.  Society, 

a 

.     1826 

Miami  U.  Society, 

it 

1826 

Granville,  North  Carolina, 

it 

.    1826 

Liberty  Town,  Maryland, 

iC 

1827 

Fell's  Point,  Baltimore, 

it 

.     1827 

Shippensburg,  Pennsylvania, 

ft 

1827 

Centreville,  Maryland, 

St 

.     1827 

Steubenville,  Ohio, 

it 

1827 

Chesterlown,  Maryland, 

if 

.    1827 

New  Market,  Maryland, 

it 

1827 

Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania, 

it 

.     1827 

Somerset,  Maryland, 

a 

1827 

Newtown,  Maryland, 

a 

.     1827 

Lancaster,  Virginia, 

tt 

1827 

Centreville,  Indiana, 

it 

.     1827 

New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 

it 

1827 

Louisville,  Kentucky, 

tt 

.     1827 

Burlington,  Vermont, 

tt 

1827 

Greenfield,  Ohio, 

tt 

.    1827 

Greenville,  Alabama, 

a 

1827 

16 

182  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  reader  will  observe,  from  the  preceding 
schedule,  that  Union  Societies  had  been  formed  in 
twelve  different  states.  In  those  societies  were  to 
be  found  some  of  the  most  distinguished  ministers 
of  the  M.  E.  Church,  in  point  of  piety,  talent  and 
influence.  But  no  character  was  too  fair,  at  this 
stage  of  the  history  of  reform,  to  be  attacked  and 
aspersed  by  the  votaries  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
hierarchy.  Even  the  much-honored  Dr.  H.  B. 
Bascom,  the  present  champion  or  defender  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  South,  was  denounced  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Hanson  and  his  co-laborers,  the  prosecuting  com- 
mittee, as  "a  reckless  assailant  that  transcends  all 
decency  of  invective."  To  be  in  favor  of  reform, 
or  of  "mutual  rights,"  was  regarded  by  the  advo- 
cates of  the  old  order  of  things  as  an  offence 
calling  for  expulsion  from  the  church. 

NORTH    CAROLINA. 

We  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  state  of  affairs 
in  North  Carolina.  The  Roanoke  Union  Society 
had  continued  to  swell  its  numbers,  and  disseminate 
its  circulars  and  publications  throughout  the  state, 
in  order  to  enlist  the  minds  and  feelings  of  the 
Methodist  community  in  the  cause  of  a  republican 
church  polity.  The  measures  adopted  by  this 
society  in  the  dissemination  of  the  doctrine  of 
mutual  rights,  did  not  fail  to  bring  it  into  notice 
with  those  in  authority  in  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Accordingly,  early  in  the  year  1S2S,  the  Virginia 
Annual  Conference  sent  to  the  Roantfke  Circuit,  as 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


183 


preacher  in  charge,  the  Rev.  William  Compton, 
who  had  figured  so  conspicuously  in  the  trials  and 
expulsions  of  the  members  of  the  Granville  Union 
Society;  and  whose,  principles  and  character  as  an 
anti-reformer  were  well  known  in  Roanoke. 

From  the  well  known  reputation  of  Rev.  Mr. 
Compton,  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  had  just 
grounds  of  fear  upon  learning  that  he  had  been  ap- 
pointed by  the  Annual  Conference  to  be  their 
superintendent.  The  appointment  was  an  unfor- 
tunate one.  The  minds  of  the  Roanoke  brethren 
were  not  prepared  to  receive  him.  His  previous 
course  towards  the  venerable  Lewellyn  Jones  and 
others  on  Tar  River  Circuit,  had  rendered  him  ob- 
noxious to  their  feelings,  and  they  naturally  con- 
cluded that  he  had  been  selected  in  view  of  their 
position  as  reformers,  and  hence  they  were  to 
become  the  victims  of  his  unsparing  zeal.  They 
were  no  strangers  to  his  sentiments  respecting  the 
reformers.  They  expected,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
that  as  he  had  done  nnto  other  reforms,  he  would 
do  even  so  unto  them.  Hence  they  were  not 
prepared  to  receive  him  with  that  warmth  of  feeling 
and  confidence  of  good-will  which  is  so  character- 
istic of  Methodists. 

Soon  after  the  appointment  of  the  Rev.  William 
Compton  to  the  Roanoke  Circuit  was  known,  a 
called  meeting  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  was 
held.  The  meeting  of  the  socieiy  was  on  the  4th 
of  April,  1828.  The  circumstances  under  which 
they  were  n©w  placed  were  entirely  new.     The 


184  HISTORY    OP    THE 

melancholy  tidings  of  the  expulsion  of  their  brethren 
in  Baltimore  had  reached  them ;  and  from  the 
fact  that  one  of  the  most  prominent  actors  in  the 
expulsion  of  seven  members  of  the  Granville  Union 
Society,  had  been  sent  to  watch  over  them,  as 
preacher  in  charge,  they  naturally  concluded  that 
a  storm-cloud  was  Qatherino;  to  burst  over  their  own 
heads.  But  they  stood  firm.  Trusting  in  the  jus- 
tice of  their  cause  and  the  rectitude  of  their  princi- 
ples, they  were  willing  to  brave  the  event.  They 
had  no  compromise  to  make — no  principles  to  sell. 
The  path  of  duty  led  onward. 

The  business  of  the  society,  on  the  first  day,  was 
principally  of  a  local  nature.  On  the  next  day, 
April  5th,  the  following  resolutions  were  offered 
by  Rev.  William  Bellamy  and  adopted  by  the 
society,  being  such  as  fairly  defined  their  position 
and  principles  in  view  of  all  the  circumstances. 

"  1.  That  as  the  sense  of  this  meeting  the  conduct 
of  our  brethren  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  and  else- 
where, who  have  been  expelled  from  the  church  on 
account  of  their  attachment  to  the  principles  of  re- 
ligious and  ecclesiastical  liberty,  as  contended  for  by 
the  reformers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
is  justly  entitled  to  our  approbation  as  fellow  advo- 
cates for  truth,  and  our  strongest  Christian  S3rmpa- 
thies  as  a  religious  community. 

"2.  That  as  the  sense  of  this  meeting,  our  sisters 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  who  have  recently  escaped 
from  the  church  in  consequence  of  the  'abomina- 
tion   which    maketh    desolate,    standing   where    it 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  185 

ought  not,'  are  also  entitled  to  our  friendly  sympa- 
thies and  Christian  salutations." 

The  above  resolutions  were  ordered  to  be  for- 
warded to  the  editorial  committee  of  the  Mutual 
Rights,  at  Baltimore,  to  be  disposed  of  as  they 
should  think  proper. 

The  following  resolutions,  next  in  order,  were 
offered  by  brother  L.  Whitaker. 

"1.  That  the  expulsion  of  Lewellyn  Jones  and 
others,  in  the  Tar  River  Circuit,  during  the  year 
1326,  for  joining  the  Union  Society  there;  and  more 
particularly  the  part  borne  in  that  unfortunate  trans- 
action, by  the  Rev.  Wm.  Compton,  now  appointed 
to  this  circuit  as  a  minister,  meets  with  the  decided 
disapprobation  of  this  society. 

"2.  That  individually  we  apprehend  a  similar 
course  is  intended  to  be  pursued  towards  us  :  it 
being  a  sound  maxim  that  what  has  been  done,  in 
all  probability  will  be  repeated. 

"3.  Therefore,  that  before  we  can  receive  as  a 
messenger  of  peace  the  said  William  Compton,  we 
must  be  assured  that  he  will  endeavor  to  repair  the 
wrong  he  has  committed,  by  using  his  best  efforts  to 
restore  to  tAhe  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  the  said 
Lewellyn  Jones  and  others  that  were  expelled  for 
the  same  cause. 

"4.  That  the  corresponding  committee  furnish 
the  Rev.  William  Compton  with  a  copy  of  these 
resolutions,  requesting  his  answer  thereto." 

These  resolutions,  as  appears  from  the  journal, 
were  all  adopted  unanimously.     They  are  couched 
16* 


186  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  no  ambiguous  language,  but  express  in  decided 
terms  the  undivided  sentiments  of  the  Roanoke 
Union  Society. 

The  Rev.  William  Compton  was  furnished  in  due 
time  with  a  copy  by  the  committee  of  correspond- 
ence, to  which  he  returned  the  following  reply: 

To  the  members  of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society. 

Dear  Brethren, — From  the  friendly  and  re- 
spectful treatment  I  received  from  the  reformers,  on 
my  first  round  on  the  circuit,  I  had  flattered  myself 
that,  however  we  might  differ  in  our  sentiments 
on  church  government,  nothing  unpleasant  would 
occur  between  you  and  me  through  the  year.  But 
from  a  communication  received  from  you,  1  am  ap- 
prehensive that  I  shall  be  disappointed;  for  be  ye 
well  assured  that  I  am  not  conscious  of  having  done 
wrong  in  the  part  that  I  acted  in  Quarterly  Confer- 
ence, in  reference  to  Lewellyn  Jones  and  others. 
As  to  the  reformers  in  this  circuit,  I  had  indulged  a 
hope  that  they  would  not  interfere  with  me  or  my 
concerns,*  but  were  willing  that  I  should  think  for 

*  From  this  passage  it  is  very  plain  that  the  author  wishes  it  to 
be  inferred  that  he  is  the  ag«rieved  party  in  this  affair,  and  is  en- 
deavoring to  turn  the  scales  and  make  himself  a  persecuted  being, 
to  whom  the  right  of  private  judgment  is  denied  ;  and  he  writes 
willi  as  much  assurance  as  if  the  fact  were  so.  In  the  name  of 
goodness,  who  would  suppose,  from  perusing  the  passage  referred  to., 
that  W.  Compton  had  ever  in  his  life  censured  (much  more  punished, 
and  that  severely  too,)  a  brother  for  the  same  thing  he  affects  to 
plead  for?  Who  could  suppose  that,  with  so  much  charity  on  his 
lips,  he  had  ever  raised  his  hand  against  an  inoffensive  man?    Yet 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  1ST 

myself,  and  that  they  would  cast  their  influence 
with  mine  into  the  common  scale  of  truth,  and  do 
what  they  could  to  help  forward  the  interest  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom.  While  I  had  concluded 
within  myself  that,  if  they  continued  to  conduct 
themselves  as  they  had  done  since  I  came  into  the 
circuit,  so  far  as  I  had  knowledge  of  their  proceed- 
ings, that  I  should  leave  them  as  my  predecessor 
had  done  before  me.  You  seem  resolved  not  to 
receive  me  as  a  "messenger  of  peace,"  unless  I 
give  the  assurance  you  have  demanded.  This  I 
shall  not  do;  and  of  course  I  am  rejected.  But  I 
should  like  to  know  by  whom;  not  in  the  aggregate, 
but  by  name;  for  I  cannot  consistently  darken  the 
door  or  eat  the  bread  of  any  man  into  whose  house 
I  am  not  received  as  a  "messenger  of  peace:"  and 
if  it  be  by  a  majority  of  the  representative  depart- 
ment of  any  class  that  I  am  thus  rejected,  I  should 
take  it  as  an  instance  of  candor  and  honesty  to  be 
advertised  of  the  fact,  that  I  may  shape  my  course 
accordingly.     I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  I 

it  is  so.  This  identical  W.  Compton,  (unless  we  believe  the 
eastern  tale  of  the  dervise  killing  the  king  and  leaving  his  own 
body  and  taking  up  his  abode  in  that  of  his  majesty,  and  that  this 
is  only  W.  Compton  in  appearance,  and  the  soul  in  the  body  is 
quite  another  existence,)  within  less  than  two  years,  in  one  day's 
journey  of  Bradford's  church,  had  exerted  all  his  influence,  and 
boasted  the  accomplishment  of  his  object,  not  only  to  censure  but  to 
punish  Jones  and  others  for  attempting  practically  to  exercise  the 
very  principle  he  so  affectedly  rants  about.  Such  is  the  fact. 
Surely  this  is  "something  new." 

A  Member  of  the  Roanoke  U.  Society. 


188  HISTORY    OP   THE 

am  on  the  old  side,  where  I  mean  to  continue,  un- 
less my  mind  should  very  materially  change,  or  the 
majority  should  say  that  there  shall  be  a  change  in 
the  government  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
Nor  have  I  any  idea  that  any  of  the  reforming 
brethren  in  this  circuit  will  change  their  ground,  for 
the  same  reason  that  I  shall  not  change  mine. 

Wherefore,  then,  permit  me  to  ask,  is  the  neces- 
sity of  our  agitating  this  subject,  when  we  know 
that  both  the  one  and  the  other  are  fixed  in  their 
purpose  ?  Have  we  time  hanging  so  heavily  on  our 
hands,  that  we  must  necessarily  pass  it  off  in  a  way 
which  is  often  the  means  of  harrowing  up  the  feel- 
ings of  brethren?  Would  we  not  act  more  wisely 
to  "agree  to  disagree,"  and  let  this  subject  be  more 
still  in  our  frequent  conversations  with  each  other? 
Surely,  my  brethren,  we  must  admit  that  there  has 
been  too  much  asperity  on  both  sides  already,  and 
that  it  is  high  time  for  us  to  deplore  the  languishing- 
state  of  Zion  in  this  circuit.  Time  is  flying  with 
the  rapidity  of  light,  and  souls  more  precious  a 
thousand  fold  than  the  gold  of  Ophir,  are  peopling 
the  eternal  world  by  myriads.  And  should  we  not 
then,  instead  of  catching  at  shadows,  nerve  the 
strong  arm  of  faith  and  take  of  the  things  of  God 
and  eternity,  and  show  them  to  a  dying  world? 
Let  this  be  the  burden  of  our  concern  and  the  ob- 
ject of  our  contention,  and  then  may  we  hope  to  see 
the  waste  places  of  our  beloved  Zion  restored. 

And,  finally,  let  it  be  for  the  man  of  sin,  but  not 
for  the  man  of  God,  (and  more  especially  the  minis- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  189 

ter  of  Jesus  Christ,)  to  say  that  the  man  who  does 
not  see  exactly  as  he  sees,  is  not  a  "messenger  of 
peace."  Reject  me  if  you  think  proper,  brethren, 
and  with  me  the  gospel  of  Christ;  but  take  care 
that  in  so  doing  you  do  not  "reject  the  counsel  of 
God  against  yourselves."  With  these  remarks, 
I  conclude  by  taking  the  liberty  of  subscribing 
myself,  dear  brethren,  yours  in  the  kingdom  and 
patience  of  Jesus. 

William  Compton. 
May  5th,  1828. 

On  the  6th  of  June  following  the  Roanoke  Union 
Society  met  at  Bradford's  Chapel,  and  the  letter  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Compton  was  read  before  that  bocty.  The 
committee  of  correspondence  made  a  report  upon 
said  letter,  in  the  form  of  a  review  of  its  contents, 
which  was  adopted  and  published,  together  with  the 
letter,  in  one  of  the  political  papers  of  the  day. 
The  following  is  the 

REVIEW  REPORTED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE. 

Your  committee  think  they  will  not  be  deemed 
by  this  society,  to  take  any  thing  on  themselves  but 
what  as  a  committee  of  correspondence  they  ought 
to  do,  if  they  endeavor  to  exhibit  to  the  society,  its 
situation  as  a  society  in  regard  to  the  perils  of  its 
members,  and  to  justify  the  course  of  the  society  in 
the  adoption  of  the  resolutions  aforesaid ;  in  doing 
which,  it  becomes  proper  to  examine  the  circum- 
stances under  which  they  were  adopted. 


190  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Recent  information  from  Baltimore,  giving  details 
of  occurrences  there,  in  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hanson 
acted  so  notable  a  part,  had  placed  the  matter 
beyond  the  reach  of  reasonable  doubt,  that  it  had 
become  the  decided  determination  of  the  rulers  in 
our  church  to  expel  from  its  membership  all  such 
as  had  the  hardihood,  in  their  estimation,  to  question 
their  justice  or  their  infallibility.  It  was,  in  other 
words,  declared  an  offence,  and  for  its  commission 
the  party  was  expelled,  if  in  the  exercise  of  a  right 
guaranteed  to  us  by  all  our  fundamental  laws,  any 
member  should  declare  in  his  opinion  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  had  committed  wrong — an  offence  of  so 
trivial  a  nature  as  not  to  be  finable  if  committed 
towards  the  highest  officer  recognized  by  these 
United  States.  It  is  also  a  fact  beyond  the  reach  of 
self-denial,  that  one  Lewellyn  Jones,  in  Tar  River 
Circuit,  had  been  lately  expelled  for  becoming  a 
member  of  a  Union  Society.  It  was  also  a  fact 
equally  notorious,  that  in  the  transaction  the  Rev. 
William  Compton  had  taken  a  decisive  and  active 
part  in  behalf  of  irresponsible  power. 

When  this  society  was  informed  that  the  said 
Rev.  Win.  Compton  was  appointed  to  take  charge 
of  this  circuit,  it  could  but  occur  to  the  society  so 
apparently  that  it  was  impossible  but  it  should  no- 
tice it,  that  its  own  membership  stood  on  a  founda- 
tion somewhat  precarious,  with  a  minister  who  had 
avowed  his  determination  not  to  be  neutral;  who  had 
compared  reformers  to  "thieves  and  tories;"  who 
charged  them  with  designs  to  overturn  whatever  he 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  191 

considered  lovely  or  venerable  in  our  church;  who 
had  boldly  and  with  complacency  declared  that  the 
reformers  might  be  expelled,  though  they  were 
guilty  of  no  immoral  act ;  who  had  avowed  it  to  be 
both  "just  and  generous"  to  ransack  the  conversa- 
tions of  men  at  great  distances,  and  fix  whatever 
was  exceptionable  in  them  on  the  accused  person, 
however  innocent  he  might  be  of  their  thoughts  or 
ignorant  of  their  expressions ;  it  is  conceived  by 
your  committee  thai  the  society  was  urged  both  by 
a  sense  of  sympathy  to  the  injured  and  safety  to 
itself,  to  adopt  the  resolutions. 

The  society  feeling,  as  it  ought  to  have  done,  the 
weight  of  its  responsibility,  was  bound  by  every 
consideration  that  ought  to  influence  it,  to  ascertain 
in  direct  terms  whether  its  fears  were  reasonable 
or  groundless  ;  thinking,  if  they  were  the  latter,  no 
candid,  no  religious  man  could  or  would  for  one 
moment  refuse  to  make  reparation  for  an  injury 
committed  by  him  ;  if  the  former,  how  is  it  possible 
that  it  could  receive,  as  a  brother,  as  a  minister,  as 
a  "  messenger  of  peace,"  the  man  who  of  all  others 
had  made  himself  so  conspicuous  in  committing 
havoc  among  its  brethren  ?  It  is  not  in  nature  to 
do  so. 

Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  apprehen- 
sions of  the  society  were  reasonable,  and  that  the 
answer  of  the  said  Rev.  Wm.  Compton  to  the  reso- 
lutions of  this  society  has  reduced  it  to  a  certainty 
that  they  were  so.  The  letter  declares  that  the 
writer  had  come   to  the  conclusion  to  leave  the 


192  HISTORY    OF    THE 

reformers  here  as  he  found  them ;  but  at  the  same 
time  he  gives  us  to  understand  that  he  had  done 
so  from  the  very  friendly  treatment  he  had  received 
from  them  ;  and  even  this  small  boon  is  taxed  with 
their  demeaning  themselves  in  the  same  wa}r,  as 
far  as  his  knowledge  of  their  conduct  extended, 
lour  committee,  while  they  express  the  satisfaction 
of  knowing  that  the  very  friendly  conduct  of  the 
reformers  had  disarmed  a  belligerant,  are  at  the 
same  time  of  opinion  that  the  difficulty  of  obtaining 
a  court  to  answer  his  purpose,  in  the  manner  pre- 
scribed in  the  book  of  Discipline,  might  very  possi- 
bly have  been  an  inducement  in  the  formation  of 
the  said  determination.  The  answer  to  your  reso- 
lution further  declares,  and  that  too  in  a  manner 
that  we  cannot  hesitate  to  believe  the  truth  of  the 
declaration,  that  as  respects  the  conduct  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Compton  in  the  affair  of  Lewellyn  Jones,  he 
feels  no  degree  of  compunction.  Your  committee, 
therefore,  cannot  hesitate  to  think  that  in  regard  to  each 
one  of  your  society,  his  abilities  would  be  exerted  and  his 
power  lent  to  place  us  where  the  said  Lewellyn  Jones 
'is — out  of  the  pale  of  the  church.* 

But  our  brother  Compton  affects  to  believe  that 
your  resolutions  are  predicated  on  the  circumstance 
of  his  being  ^^-reformation ;  that  his  belief  is  but 
affectation  becomes  apparent  from  the  fact  that  it 
must  be  known  to  him  that  no  such  resolution  was 
adopted  in  regard  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Carson,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bain,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Doub,  or  the  Rev.  Mr. 

*How  soon  was  this  all  realized! — Author. 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  193 

Hooks,  all  known  to  be  in  principle  against  reform  ; 
and  from  the  fact  that  the  resolutions  themselves  do 
not  even  so  much  as  imply  such  a  construction. 

The  resolutions  say,  in  the  first  place,  that  the 
society  disapproves  the  expulsion  of  Lewellyn 
Jones,  and  that  disapprobation  is  founded  on  the 
circumstance  of  Lewellyn  Jones  being  a  reformer, 
and  being  expelled  therefor.  In  the  second  place, 
the  society  disapproves  the  part  taken  in  regard  to 
Jones  by  the  Rev.  William  Compton.  In  the  third 
place,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  being  appointed  to 
take  charge  of  this  circuit,  the  society  says  it  is 
apprehensive  a  similar  course  is  intended  to  be 
pursued  in  regard  to  each  member;  and  in  conse- 
quence of  all  these  circumstances  united,  it  resolves 
that  before  it  can  receive  as  a  "  messenger  of  peace 
the  said  Rev.  Wm.  Compton,  it  must  be  assured 
that  he  will  repair  the  wrong  he  has  committed,  by 
using  his  best  efforts  to  restore  to  the  church  the 
said  Lewellyn  Jones."  Your  committee  beg  leave 
to  call  the  attention  of  the  society  to  the  fact  that  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Compton  takes  no  notice  whatever,  in  his 
very  mild  and  friendly  letter,  of  the  second  resolu- 
tion, the  one  most  interesting  to  this  society.  Our 
brother  seems  to  reproach  us  with  a  waste  of  time, 
and  that  too  in  a  manner  calculated  to  harrow  the 
feelings  of  brethren.  In  one  respect  your  resolu- 
tions were  a  waste  of  time,  since  on  him  they  seem 
to  be  of  no  effect.  From  the  tenor  of  his  letter, 
your  just  fears  seem  to  be  regarded  in  the  same 
light  as  a  crowned  head  would  the  remonstrances 
17 


194  HISTORY    OF    THE 

of  his  subjects,  when  he  was  determined  to  dis- 
regard them. 

The  world  is  not  centred,  however,  in  one  man. 
Your  committee  are  of  opinion  that  the  cause  for 
which  this  society  is  contending,  and  in  furtherance 
of  which  the  resolutions  were  passed,  (it  seems  to 
them,  at  least,  to  be  of  that  importance,)  that  a  few 
days,  or  weeks,  or  years,  may  be  very  profitably 
devoted  to  it,  without  deserving  the  reproach  of  a 
waste  of  time.  Since,  however,  it  is  almost  crimi- 
nal in  the  view  of  the  Rev.  William  Compton  to 
harrow  the  feelings  of  a  brother,  and  in  this  your 
committee  can  very  readily  join,  it  would  be  well 
to  inquire  if  none  have  feelings  but  the  a?ities.  Had 
Jones  no  feelings  when,  dragged  before  an  unre- 
lenting tribunal,  he  heard  his  name  associated  with 
tories,  and  at  the  same  time  saw  himself  thrown 
from  the  membership  of  the  church,  and  that  too  for 
an  act  declared  by  his  judges  to  constitute  nothing 
immoral  ?  Had  Harris  no  sensibility  when  charged 
by  this  self-same  man*  with  turning  others  from 
the  simplicity  of  the  gospel?  It  were  useless  to 
follow  this  subject  further — the  adage  is  exemplified, 
that  "we  are  guilty  of  what  we  blame  in  others." 

Our  brother's  letter  has  one  remarkable  passage, 
the  import  of  which  your  committee  hope  he  did  not 
intend;  the  passage  is  this:  "Reject  me  if  you 
think  proper,  and  with  me  the  gospel  of  Christ." 
Your  committee,  in  regard  to  this  part  of  the  letter 
of  the  said  Rev.  Win.  Compton,  are  persuaded  that 

*  See  Rev.  W.  Compton's  letter  to  Ivey  Harris. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


195 


no  reasonable  man  can  for  one  moment  suppose 
that  the  rejection  of  any  one  man  amounts  to  the 
rejection  of  the  gospel  of  our  Saviour ;  if  it  did, 
we  apprehend  that  few  would  be  in  the  pale  of  that 
gospel.  Your  committee,  without  commenting  on 
the  vanity  and  self-sufficiency  of  the  man  in  arro- 
gating to  himself  so  eminent  a  distinction,  will  barely 
remark,  that  if  the  rejection  by  this  society  of  the 
Rev.  Wm.  Compton,  as  a  "messenger  of  peace"  to 
it,  places  its  members  in  the  awful  situation  of  re- 
jecting the  counsel  of  God  against  themselves,  what 
is  the  situation  of  the  man  who  uses  his  mission  as 
a  means  to  oppress  and  to  deprive  of  communion 
with  his  Maker  a  soul  that  has  been  purchased  by 
the  blood  of  the  Saviour  ? 

Your  committee  are  forced  to  believe,  on  a  review 
of  the  whole  matter,  that  though  possibly  to  some 
the  mission  of  our  brother  Compton  may  be  one  of 
peace,  yet  to  this  society  it  evidently  carries  with  it  and 
sends  before  it  the  emblems  of  war. 

Something  is  said,  in  the  reply  to  your  resolu- 
tions, about  the  representative  departments  of  the 
different  societies.  Your  committee  (to  this  part  of 
it)  are  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  object  of  the 
writer.  He  boldly  avows  himself  to  be  on  that 
side  of  this  controversy  which  denies  the  semblance 
of  representation  from  the  membership  of  the 
church.  Your  committee,  therefore,  are  of  opinion 
that  this  society  should  take  no  steps  to  inform  the 
said  Rev.  Wm.  Compton  of  the  names  of  those  who 
voted  in  the  affirmative  or  negative  on  the  passage 
of  the  resolutions  referred  to. 


196  HISTORY    OF   THE 

B}7"  your  resolutions  your  course  is  now  decided  ; 
from  the  answer  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton,  his 
seems  to  be  equally  as  much  so.  Your  committee, 
therefore,  recommend  the  adoption  of  the' following 
resolutions : 

1.  That  this  society  deem  it  inexpedient  to  make 
any  reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton. 

2.  That  this  society  is  engaged  in  a  contest  in- 
volving interests  to  its  members  of  a  class  the  most 
important. 

3.  That  its  members  will  make  cause  with  each 
other,  and  will  stand  by  each  other  in  every 
emergency. 

4.  By  the  members  of  this  society  individually, 
that  they  make  no  disclosures,  no  concessions,  and 
no  apologies  of  what  nor  for  what  has  been  done  in 
this  society,  for  the  sake  of  peace  or  advantage  to 
themselves,  and  of  throwing  blame  on  others,  other- 
wise than  may  be  ordered  by  the  society  itself. 

All  of  which  is  respectfully  submitted. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


197 


CHAPTER    VI. 

Resolutions  of  the  General  Conference  of  1S28. — Notification  of 
Rev.  Mr.  Compton  to  the  ministers  of  the  Roanoke  Union  So- 
ciety.— Examination  of  the  grounds  assumed  by  Mr.  Compton. — 
Trials  of  the  local  ministers  at  Horeb. — Expulsions  of  the 
same. — Expulsions  on  Albemarle,  in  the  eastern  part  of  North 
Carolina. 

From  what  has  been  related  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  we  have  seen  that  the  position  of  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Compton,  in  regard  to  the  Roanoke  Union 
Society,  was  one  that  augured  not  much  of  good. 

But  even  that  was  destined  to  be  soon  changed 
for  one  that  promised  still  less.  In  May  (a  few 
weeks  preceding  his  communication  to  the  Union 
Society)  the  General  Conference  met  at  Pittsburg. 
The  brethren  who  had  been  expelled  at  Baltimore 
sent  up  a  memorial  to  that  body,  setting  forth  the 
irregular  and  improper  proceedings  which  had  been 
had  against  them,  and  by  which  they  had  been  ex- 
pelled from  the  church,  and  respectfully  petitioned 
that  body  to  take  such  measures  as,  in  their  wisdom, 
should  restore  them  to  the  church  of  their  former 
fellowship,  and  that  "those  likewise  who  had  with- 
drawn on  their  account  might  be  received  with 
them  on  principles  which  should  secure  to  them 
and  the  church  the  liberty  of  speech  and  of  the 
press,  without  sanctioning  the  licentiousness  of 
either."  The  General  Conference  adopted  resolu- 
17* 


198  HISTORY    OP    THE 

tions,  laying  clown  certain  principles  or  conditions 
upon  which  the  expelled  and  withdrawn  might 
again  become  united  with  the  church.  But  these 
conditions  were  such  as  the  expelled  could  not  con- 
scientiously accede  to.  Contending  as  they  had 
been  for  principles  and  rights,  they  saw  in  these 
resolutions  not  even  the  semblance  of  a  bait  to  allure. 
Although  they  advised  that  no  further  proceedings 
be  had  against  the  reformers  for  any  past  agency  or 
connection  with  Union  Societies  or  the  "Mutual 
Rights,"  yet  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  affected  to  seize 
upon  these  very  resolutions  as  affording  him  new, 
special  and  enlarged  authority  to  proceed  upon  a 
vigorous  campaign  against  the  members  of  the 
Roanoke  Union  Society.  In  order  that  the  reader 
may  fully  understand  the  flimsy  pretensions  of  this 
reverend  gentleman,  we  shall  here  bring  forward 
the  resolutions  of  the  General  Conference. 

RESOLUTIONS   OF  THE   GENERAL  CONFERENCE  OF  1828, 

IN  REPLY  TO  THE  EXPELLED  BRETHREN. 

Whereas  an  unhappy  excitement  has  existed  in 
some  parts  of  our  work,  in  consequence  of  the  or- 
ganization of  what  have  been  called  Union  Societies, 
for  purposes  and  under  regulations  believed  to  be 
inconsistent  with  the  peace  and  harmony  of  the 
church;  and  in  relation  to  the  character  of  much  of 
the  matter  contained  in  a  certain  periodical  publica- 
tion called  "Mutual  Rights,"  in  regard  to  which 
certain   expulsions    from   the    church   have    taken 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  199 

place;  and  whereas  this  General  Conference  in- 
dulge a  hope  that  a  mutual  desire  may  exist  for 
conciliation  and  peace,  and  is  desirous  of  leaving 
open  a  way  for  the  accomplishment  of  so  desirable 
an  object,  on  safe  and  equitable  principles  :  there- 
fore, resolved,  by  the  delegates  of  the  Annual 
Conferences,  in  General  Conference  assembled, 
1.  That  in  view  of  the  premises,  and  in  the  earnest 
hope  that  this  measure  may  tend  to  promote;  this 
object,  this  General  Conference  affectionately  ad- 
vises that  no  further  proceedings  may  be  had  in  any 
part  of  our  work  against  any  member  or  minister 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  account  of 
any  past  agency  or  concern  in  relation  to  the  above 
named  periodical,  or  in  relation  to  any  Union 
Society  above  mentioned. 

2.  If  any  persons  expelled  as  aforesaid  feel  free 
to  concede  that  publications  have  appeared  in  said 
(i  Mutual  Rights,"  the  nature  and  character  of  which 
were  unjustifiably  inflammatory,  and  do  not  admit 
of  vindication;  and  that  in  others,  though  for  want 
of  proper  information  or  unintentionally,  have  yet 
in  fact  misrepresented  individuals  and  facts,  and 
that  they  regret  these  things ;  if  it  be  voluntarily 
agreed  also  that  the  Union  Societies  above  alluded 
to  shall  be  abolished,  and  the  periodical  called  the 
"Mutual  Rights"  be  discontinued  at  the  close  of 
the  current  volume,  which  shall  be  completed  with 
due  respect  to  the  conciliatory  and  pacific  design 
of  this  arrangement,  then  this  General  Conference 
does  hereby  give  authority  for  the  restoration  to  their 


200  HISTORY    OP    THE 

ministry  or  membership  respectively,  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  of  any  person  or  persons  %o 
expelled  as  aforesaid ;  provided  this  arrangement 
shall  be  mutually  assented  to  by'any  individual  or 
individuals  so  expelled,  and  also  by  the  Quarterly 
Meeting  Conference,  and  the  minister  or  preacher 
having  the  charge  of  any  circuit  or  station  within 
which  any  such  expulsion  may  have*  taken  place; 
and  that  no  such  minister  or  preacher  shall  be 
obliged,  under  this  arrangement,  to  restore  an}-  such 
individual  as  leader  of  any  class  or  classes,  unless 
in  his  own  discretion  he  shall  judge  it  proper  so  to 
do ;  and  provided,  also,  that  it  be  further  mutually 
agreed  that  no  other  periodical  publication,  to  be 
devoted  to  the  same  controversy,  shall  be  estab- 
lished on  either  side,  it  being  expressly  understood, 
at  the  same  time,  that  this,  if  agreed  to,  will  be  on 
the  ground  not  of  any  assumption  of  right  to  require 
this,  but  of  mutual  consent,  for  the  restoration  of 
peace,  and  that  no  individual  will  be  hereby  pre- 
cluded from  issuing  any  publication  which  he  may 
judge  proper,  on  his  own  responsibility. 

It  is  further  understood  that  any  individual  or  in- 
dividuals who  may  have  withdrawn  from  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  on  account  of  any  proceed- 
ings in  relation  to  the  premises,  may  also  be  restored 
by  mutual  consent,  under  this  arrangement,  on  the 
same  principles  above  stated. 

The  preceding  resolutions  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence were  published  in  the  "  Christian  Advocate 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  201 

and  Journal,"  soon  after  the  rise  of  the  conference ; 
and  under  pretext  of  authority  from  these,  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Compton  shortly  afterwards  commenced  his 
crusade  against  the  Roanoke  Union  Society.  From 
his  proceedings  on  record,  it  appears  that  he  chose 
to  begin  with  the  ministers.  Accordingly  he  sent 
to  each  one  of  them  belon^in^  to  Roanoke  Circuit 

o       CD 

the  following  notification.  The  following  is  a  copy 
of  the  one  sent  to  Rev.  William  Bellamy.  The 
original  is  before  me. 

August  14,  1828. 
Mr.  Bellamy: 

Sir, — The  General  Conference  of  May  last  resolved 
that  on  certain  conditions  those  reformers  who  have 
been  expelled  the  church  should  be  restored  to  their 
former  standing.  Which  implies  that  if  these  con- 
ditions are  not  complied  with,  they  shall  not  be 
restored.  The  plain  inference  is,  that  those  who 
have  not  been  expelled,  and  who  are  guilty  of  the 
same  things,  must  either  comply  with  these  condi- 
tions or  expect  to  share  the  same  fate.  Since  there- 
fore the  4th  volume  of  the  "Mutual  Rights"  is  now 
completed,  I  take  the  liberty  of  informing  you  that 
I  conceive  that  the  General  Conference  has  made  it 
my  duty  to  request  you  to  dissolve  the  "Union  So- 
ciety "  of  which  you  are  a  member,  so  far  as  you  are 
concerned,  and  to  cease  to  patronize  the  "Mutual 
Rights."  Also  }rou  are  hereby  notified  that,  if  you 
will  not  comply  with  these  conditions,  you  may 
prepare  for  trial  before  a  committee ;  and  also  for 
having  "  inveighed  against  the  government  of  the 


202 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


church/'  and  for  expressions  that  you  have  in- 
dulged. The  time  of  the  trial  you  will  be  informed 
of  hereafter.  Respectfully  yours, 

Wm.  Compton. 

From  the  tenor  of  this  notification  or  circular  of 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  to  the  local  ministers  belong- 
ing to  the  Union  Society,  it  must  be  evident  that  he 
wished  to  place  them  without  the  pale  of  the  church. 
He  heeded  not  the  published  resolutions  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference.  He  acted  not  according  to  the 
counsel  and  advice  of  that  body,  although  he  pro- 
fessed to  shape  his  course  according  to  the  condi- 
tions which  it  laid  as  a  rule  of  action  in  the  prem- 
ises. Hear  what  the  General  Conference  says : 
"1st.  That  in  view  of  the  premises,  and  in  the  earn- 
est hope  that  this  measure  may  tend  to  promote  this 
object,  the  General  Conference  affectionately  ad- 
vises that  no  further  proceedings  may  be  had  in 
any  part  of  our  work,  against  any  member  or  min- 
ister of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  account 
of  any  past  agency  or  concern,  in  relation  to  the 
above  named  periodical,  or  in  relation  to  any 
Union  Society  above  mentioned." 

Hear  what  the  Rev.  William  Compton  says : 
"  The  plain  inference  is  that  those  who  have  not 
been  expelled,  and  who  are  guilty  of  the  same 
things,  must  either  comply  with  those  conditions, 
or  expect  to  share  the  same  fate." 

What  a  false  and  wretched  deduction  from  such 
fair  premises  !     How  discordant  are  the  sentiments 


METHODIST  PROTESTANT  CHURCH.      203 

advanced !  Does  this  professed  minister  of  the 
gospel  give  the  least  assurance,  by  such  declara- 
tions as  the  above,  that  he  is  the  "  messenger  of 
peace"  to  these  men,  his  brethren  in  the  ministry? 
He  does  not.  The  majority  of  them  were  his  sen- 
iors in  the  sacred  office,  men  of  unsullied  purity  of 
morals,  of  extensive  Christian  and  ministerial  influ- 
ence, had  done  much  for  the  cause  of  religion  and 
of  the  church ;  yet  the  notes  of  love  are  not  heard  in 
the  voice  of  this  circular  addressed  to  them  by  a 
co-laborer  in  the  cause  of  the  Redeemer. 

No  argument  is  used  by  the  minister  to  dissuade 
them  from  their  present  course ;  but  to  all  human 
appearance  he  speaks  altogether  as  one  who  is 
disposed  to  lord  it  over  God's  heritage.  No 
kind  admonition  is  given — no  Christian  entreaty  or 
appeal  is  made  to  these  brethren.  They  are 
sternly  addressed  as  offenders,  and  two  unjust  and 
unreasonable  alternatives  are  presented  to  them, 
without  being  advised  as  to  which  they  should 
accept.  The  subject  is  presented  in  the  attitude 
of  menace,  either  "  to  dissolve  the  Union  Society 
of  which  you  are  a  member,  so  far  as  you  are  con- 
cerned, and  cease  to  patronize  the  Mutual  Rights," 
or  else  "  prepare  for  trial  before  a  committee,"  the 
time  of  which  trial  they  would  be  informed  of. 

To  become  members  of  a  Union  Society  infringed 
upon  no  man's  rights;  violated  no  precept  of  mo- 
rality or  religion.  To  discuss  freely  and  frankly  the 
principles  and  polity  of  the  church  of  which  they 
were  members,  and  in  the  service  of  which  some  of 


204  HISTORY    OF    THE 

them  had  spent  many  years  of  toil  and  privations 
as  itinerants,  was  a  right  which,  as  freemen,  they 
knew  not  how  to  yield.  Their  organization  of  a 
Union  Society  had  for  its  object  a  reformation  in  the 
government  of  that  church,  by  the  introduction  of 
the  principle  of  representation  into  the  same,  that 
her  peace,  her  usefulness,  and  her  prosperity  might 
be  promoted.  The  "Mutual  Rights "  was  a  period- 
ical devoted  to  this  same  object.  The  numerous 
essays  published  in  its  columns  upon  the  subject  of 
church  polity,  were  written  by  distinguished  minis- 
ters and  members  of  the  church,  and  of  whose  at- 
tachment and  zeal  for  her  true  interests  no  one  could 
justly  doubt.  In  patronizing  this  periodical  they 
involved  no  man  in  responsibility  but  themselves, 
the  expense  incurred  they  paid  from  their  own 
purses  ;  and  yet  in  view  of  all  these  things  they  are 
notified  "to  dissolve  the  Union  Society,  and  cease 
to  patronize  the  "Mutual  Rights,"  and  in  the  very 
preface  of  that  notification  they  are  given  to  under- 
stand that  a  failure  of  implicit  obedience  on  their 
part,  to  this  mandate,  would  cause  them  to  share 
"  the  same  fate"  of  those  brethren  who  had  been 
ejected  from  the  church  in  other  parts  of  the  United 
States. 

The  character  of  this  "anti-reformer"  was  well 
known  to  the  members  of  the  Roanoke  Union  So- 
ciety. Against  the  reformers  belonging  to  the 
Granville  Union  Society  his  influence  had  been  ex- 
erted to  exclude  them  from  the  pale  of  the  church, 
and  his  arguments  in  justification  of  that  affair  were 
publicly  known. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  205 

Again,  in  the  very  first  words  in  the  opening  ad- 
dress of  this  circular  admonition,  there  is  something 
that  appears  quite  ominous.  Instead  of  the  frater- 
nal and  courteous  term  of  "brother"  so  generally 
used  among  Christians,  we  notice  this  address  opens 
with  "Mr.  Bellamy.''1 

Indeed,  this  opening  address  of  the  circular  ad- 
monitory, if  it  admits  of  such  an  appellation,  was 
quite  significant.  It  seemed  to  furnish  presumptive 
evidence  that  these  ministers  of  the  gospel  were 
not  regarded  as  "  brethren  in  Christ"  by  him  who 
had  now  come  to  exercise  authority  in  the  church. 

This  circular  of  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  served  as  a 
premonition  of  what  was  to  ensue.  At  this  time 
there  were  eleven  ministers  and  preachers  mem- 
bers of  the  Roanoke  Union  Society,  who  belonged 
to  the  circuit  under  his  superintendenc3\  The  cir- 
cular produced  no  effect  upon  any,  save  Rev.  M. 
Smith,  who  soon  after  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
society  signifying  his  desire  to  withdraw,  which 
was  granted.  Matters  had  now  arrived  at  a  crisis; 
the  ministers  refused  obedience  to  the  mandate  of 
the  superintendent — the  die  was  cast. 

From  the  original  papers  before  me,  Rev.  Mr. 
Compton's  circular  bears  date  August  14th;  and 
sixteen  days  thereafter,  the  30th  of  the  same  month, 
he  proceeded  to  summon  the  victims  for  the  sacri- 
fice. There  is  said  to  be  "  policy  in  war,"  and  the 
steps  taken  in  this  procedure  strongly  indicate  the 
policy  of  the  principal  actor.  It  was  fairly  under- 
stqpd  that  the  ministers  who  were  members  of  the 


206  HISTORY    OP    THE 

Union  Society,  with  their  friends  who  were  official 
members  upon  Roanoke  Circuit,  would  constitute 
a  respectable  majority  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting 
Conference,  before  which  body  the  cases  of  the 
accused  would  ultimately  come,  and  if  so,  the 
measures  of  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  would  meet  with 
certain  defeat.  This  was  easily  foreseen.  He, 
therefore,  so  arranged  the  order  of  business  as  to 
summon  seven  of  the  ministers  to  trial  at  one  time ; 
it  being  well  known  that  if  that  number  were  sus- 
pended by  a  trial  before  a  committee,  and  divested 
of  the  right  of  voting  on  the  case  of  each  other 
in  the  Quarterly  Conference,  the  prosecuting  officer 
would  be  able  to  carry  his  point. 

The  ministers  cited  to  trial  were  Rev.  William 
Bellamy,  Rev.  James  Hunter,  Rev.  Henry  Brad- 
ford, Rev.  Eli  B.  Whitaker,  Rev.  Albriton  Jones, 
Rev.  William  Price  and  Rev.  Miles  Nash.  It  ap- 
pears that  from  some  cause  not  easily  explained  at 
this  time,  Rev.  C.  H.  Hines  was  not  summoned  ; 
although  from  the  beginning  he  had  been  side  by 
side  with  the  foremost  of  the  others  in  the  cause  of 
mutual  rights.  As  to  Rev.  Caswell  Drake  and  Rev. 
R.  Divison,  a  more  summary]  mode  of  procedure 
was  reserved  for  them. 

The  following  is  a  true  copy  of  one  of  the  cita- 
tions issued — the  original  is  before  me. 

August  30,  1828. 

Mr.  Bellamy, — You  are  hereby  notified  that  the 
committee  on  your  case  will  meet  at  Shady  Grove 
meeting-house,  on  Saturday,  October  4th,   before 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


207 


whom  you  are  requested  to  appear  for  trial,  if  you 
think  proper.  Wm.  Compton, 

Assistant  Preacher  in  Roanoke  Circuit. 

These  seven  local  ministers  being  summoned  to 
trial  at  one  of  the  extreme  points  of  the  circuit,  and 
from  thirty  to  forty  miles  distant  to  most  of  them, 
and  being  furnished  with  no  charges  or  specifica- 
tions against  them,  and  being  well  aware  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  prosecuting  officer,  Rev.  Mr. 
Compton,  was  competent  to  exercise  his  arbitrary 
powers,  not  one  of  them  attended  trial. 

Mr.  Compton's  committee  consisted  of  the  Rev. 
Henry  Fitts,  a  rabid  anti-reformer,  Rev.  Thomas 
Cottrell,  and  J.  J.  Judge,  a  young  licentiate,  whom 
Rev.  Mr.  Compton  had  very  recently  prevailed  upon 
to  accept  of  license  to  preach,  and  for  very  just 
reasons  this  was  supposed  by  many  to  be  for  the 
purpose  of  aiding  more  effectually  in  carrying  out 
his  purposes ;  as  he  likewise  took  care  to  appoint 
another  class-leader  in  a  society  which  already  had 
one,  which  was  deemed  sufficient  for  the  society, 
thereby  contributing  to  his  strength  to  oppose  the 
advocates  of  mutual  rights. 

The  committee,  as  above  constituted,  met ;  the 
charges  and  specifications  prepared  by  Rev.  Mr. 
Compton,  who  acted  in  the  double  capacity  of 
prosecutor  and  judge,  were  presented  and  acted 
upon ;  and  the  seven  local  ministers  were  sus- 
pended from  the  exercise  of  the  sacred  office  of  the 
ministry.  According  to  the  regulations  of  discipline 
in  the  M.  E.  Church,  the  cases  of  the  suspended 


208 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


ministers  would  necessarily  come  up  for  definite 
action  before  the  ensuing  Quarterly  Meeting  Con- 
ference, which  was  to  meet  at  Horeb,  on  the  25th 
of  the  same  month,  (October,)  1828. 

The  suspended  local  ministers  were  prompt  in 
attending  the  Quarterly  Conference.  They  enter- 
tained a  hope  at  least  of  having  an  impartial  hear- 
ing before  that  body,  but  they  were  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment. He  who  could  lend  his  influence  in 
the  quarterly  conference  of  Tar  River  Circuit,  to 
excommunicate  the  venerable  Lewellyn  Jones  and 
others  from  the  church  of  God,  without  even  a 
suspicion  of  immorality  being  brought  against  them ; 
no  charge  alleged  but  being  members  of  a  Union 
Society;  and  who  could  say,  upon  reviewing  the 
whole  affair,  "I  believe  him  justly  expelled" — was  not 
to  be  foiled  in  his  measures  of  that  sort  in  his  own 
Quarterly  Meeting  Conference,  at  this  time — his 
men  were  there.    . 

When  the  cases  of  the  suspended  ministers  were 
called  up,  objections  were  made  against  the  preacher 
in  charge,  Rev.  William  Compton,  and  his  three 
committee  men  being  permitted  to  sit  upon  the 
trials  now  pending,  upon  the  ground  that  they  had 
sat  and  decided  upon  the  same  before.  But  the 
presiding  elder,  Rev.  Joseph  Carson,  decided  that 
they  were  legally  competent. 

No  formal  report  of  the  action  or  verdict  of  the 
committee  was  presented,  but  a  list  of  charges  and 
specifications  were  produced  and  read  against  the 
accused;  being  nearly  similar  against  each  one. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  209 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  charges  and  spe- 
cifications against  the  Rev.  William  Bellamy,  taken 
from  the  minutes : 

"  Charge  1.  Endeavoring  to  sow  dissension  by 
inveighing  against  the  discipline  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

"Specification  1.  Introducing  and  furthering  op- 
position to  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church. 

"  Specification  2.  His  rejection  of  William  Comp- 
ton  from  the  authority  assigned  him  by  one  of  the 
superintendents  of  said  church. 

"  Specification  3.  The  circulation  of  a  paper  called 
the  Tarborough  Free  Press,  containing  much  invet- 
eracy against  Methodism,  and  certain  false  asser- 
tions against  William  Compton. 

"  Specification  4.  His  contempt  of  Wm.  Comp- 
ton's  authority,  in  publishing  the  said  Compton's 
notification  and  citation. 

"  Charge  2.  His  refusing  to  comply  with  the  re- 
solution of  the  General  Conference  of  1828,  as 
contained  in  the  Christian  Advocate  and  Journal, 
of  June  20,  1828. 

"Specification  1.  His  not  withdrawing  from  the 
Union  Society  of  Roanoke  Circuit. 

"Specification  2.  A  manifest  determination  to 
rebel  against  the  government  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  by  sending  up  delegates  to  the 
Baltimore  Convention." 

In  reviewing  the  preceding  charges  and  specifica- 
tions, we  find  no  allegations  for  any  thing  of  an 
18* 


210  HISTORY    OF    THE 

immoral  character.  The  first  specification  appears 
to  be  founded  upon  the  fact  that  the  accused  was 
one  of  the  original  members  of  the  Roanoke  Union 
Society.* 

The  second,  that  he  was  still  a  member  of  that 
society  when  the  resolutions  were  adopted,  which 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  seems  to  have  regarded  as 
equivalent  to  his  rejection.  These  resolutions  ex- 
pressed sentiments  perfectly  in  unison  with  the 
feelings  of  every  lover  of  justice  and  truth  under 
all  the  circumstances.     They  are  as  follow: 

"  Resolved,  That  the  expulsion  of  Lewellyn 
Jones  and  others,  in  the  Tar  River  Circuit,  in  the 
year  1826,  for  joining  the  Union  Society  there,  and 
more  particularly  the  part  borne  in  that  unfortunate 
transaction  by  the  Rev.  William  Compton,  now 
appointed  a  minister  in  this  circuit,  meets  with  the 
decided  disapprobation  of  this  society. 

"Resolved,  That  individually  we  apprehend  a 
similar  course  is  intended  to  be  pursued  towards 
ourselves:  it  being  a  sound  maxim,  that  what  has 
been  done  in  all  probability  will  be  repeated. 

*  In  order  to  show  the  nature  and  bearing  of  the  testimony  pro- 
duced to  sustain  the  first  specification,  I  shall  here  introduce  the 
evidence  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Moore,  who  testified  as  follows:  "Some 
two  or  three  years  past,  myself  and  the  Rev.  William  Bellamy 
were  in  conversation  on  the  subject  of  reform  in  our  church,  at 
which  time  the  said  Bellamy  told  me  that  the  principle  of  reform 
had  had  its  influence  on  his  mind  for  some  time;  and,  if  I  do  not 
mistake,  he  said  it  was  made  known  to  the  brethren  by  himself, 
requesting  them  to  think  on  the  subject  and  make  ready  for  its 
defence. — From  the  Minutes. 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  21  L 

"Resolved,  therefore,  That  before  we  can  receive 
as  a  messenger  of  peace  the  said  Rev.  W.  Compton, 
we  must  be  assured  that  he  will  endeavor  to  repair 
the  wrong  he  has  committed  by  using  his  best  efforts 
to  restore  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  the 
said  Lewellyn  Jones  and  others  that  were  expelled 
for  the  same  cause." 

The  assurance  here  asked  by  the  members  of  the 
Union  Society,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  was  unwill- 
ing to  give.  To  have  done  so  would  have  been  a 
confession  of  error  on  his  part,  and  human  nature 
has  an  antipathy  to  saying  "I  have  done  wrong." 
In  the  absence  of  the  assurance  asked,  they  were 
not  able  to  receive  their  minister  as  a  "messenger 
of  peace,"  when  he  had  declared,  and  the  fact  was 
published  to  the  world,  that  as  it  regarded  the  re- 
formers he  had  "resolved  to  be  no  longer  neutral." 
That  being  a  well  known  fact,  how  could  he  be 
received  as  a  messenger  of  peace  by  them?  After 
the  adoption  of  these  resolutions  by  the  Union  So- 
ciety, the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  saw  proper,  for  reasons 
as  yet  inexplicable,  to  leave  out  of  his  circuit  or  charge 
five  churches,  respectable  in  numbers,  piety  and  in- 
fluence, virtually  cutting  them  off'  from  the  connex- 
ion, and  abandoning  them  altogether  as  a  minister, 
and  leaving  the  world  vaguely  to  suppose  that  this 
was  done  simply  because  less  than  one-third,  or 
one-fourth,  of  the  aggregate  of  the  members  of  those 
churches  were  members  of  the  Union  Society.  If 
this  minister  wished  to  be  regarded  as  a  "messen- 
ger of  peace,"  this  step  involved  him  in  a  funda- 


212  HISTORY    OF   THE 

mental  error.  It  admits  of  no  palliation.  These 
churches,  as  such,  had  not  rejected  his  authority; 
nor  had  less  than  one-third  of  their  members,  as 
connected  with  the  Union  Society,  required  him  to 
give  an  assurance  to  them  of  his  character  as  a 
messenger  of  peace,  in  order  to  enable  them  to 
receive  him  as  such. 

"Specification  3.  The  circulation  of  a  paper 
called  the  Tarborough  Free  Press,  containing  much 
inveteracy  against  Methodism,  and  certain  false 
assertions  against  W.  Compton." 

This  specification  seems  to  require,  from  its 
character,  a  particular  examination,  inasmuch  as  the 
paper  in  question  is  alleged  to  contain  certain  false 
assertions  against  W.  Compton.  The  Tarborough 
Free  Press  is  a  political  paper;  the  number  pro- 
duced on  trial  to  sustain  the  specification  is  dated 
July  18,  1S28.  A  number  of  the  same  date  is 
before  me.  The  paper  contains  an  address  setting 
forth  "  to  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church"  the  state  of  affairs  with  regard  to 
the  subject  of  reform  at  that  time.  It  notices  the 
formation  of  Union  Societies,  and  the  persecutions 
and  expulsions  that  had  befallen  the  members  of 
the  same.  It  likewise  contains  a  copy  of  the  reso- 
lutions adopted  by  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  and 
sent  to  Rev.  >W.  Compton;  Rev.  W.  Compton's 
reply  to  the  same ;  a  review  of  that  reply  by  the 
committee  of  correspondence;  nearly  all  of  which 
are  to  be  found  in  the  preceding  chapter  of  this 
work.     Also,  a  postcript  of  some  five  columns,  from 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  213 

the  pen  of  Col.  S.  Whitaker,  in  which  he  reviews 
the  course  pursued  by  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  towards 
the  members  of  the  Granville  Union  Society;  the 
position  assumed  by  the  same  reverend  gentleman 
upon  Roanoke  Circuit;  and  examines,  with  the 
acumen  and  learning  of  a  jurist,  the  question  of 
right  concerning  the  appointment  of  Rev.  William 
Compton  to  Roanoke  Circuit,  and  his  exercise  of 
authority  over  the  churches  in  that  circuit ;  and  con- 
cludes with  "observations  on  the  influence  of  eccle- 
siastical principles  over  the  civil  institutions  of  all 
countries."  In  all  these  things  the  writer  is  unable  to 
detect  either  the  semblance  of  "inveteracy  against 
Methodism,"  or  of  "false  assertions  against  Wm. 
Compton;"  but  of  truth  and  logical  arguments, 
illustrated  by  facts,  and  directed  against  anti-repub- 
lican principles  and  irresponsible  power. 

The  Roanoke  Union  Society  published  many  of 
its  circulars  and  transaction  in  the  Tarborough  Free 
Press  ;  contracted  for  and  circulated  a  large  amount 
of  its  numbers  containing  their  publications,  among 
the  Methodist  community.  This  was  offensive  to 
Mr.  Compton.  The  diffusion  of  light  and  know- 
ledge, with  regard  to  the  polity  of  the  church,  did 
not  suit  his  views  of  Christian  propriety. 

"  Specification  4.  His  contempt  of  Wm.  Comp- 
ton's  authority  in  publishing  the  said  Compton's 
notification  and  citation."  This  is  the  most  ridicu- 
lous of  all  the  items  in  the  count.  The  Tarborough 
Free  Press  had  been  subsidized  by  the  Union  So- 
ciety, and  upon  the  reception  of  the   "notification 


214  HISTORY    OF    THE 

and  citation,"  each  having  the  semblance  of  some- 
thing new  under  the  sun,  and  the  accused  feeling 
himself  under  no  obligation  to  keep  secret  such  docu- 
ments as  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  might  send  him, 
he  very  frankly  consented  to  place  them  in  the  col- 
umns of  that  paper,  there  being  no  rule  of  church 
forbidding  him  such  liberty,  yet  he  was  held  to 
account  for  it. 

Specification  1st,  under  charge  2d.  His  not  with- 
drawing from  the  Union  Society  of  Roanoke  Circuit. 

He  had  an  indefeasible  right  to  unite  with  the 
Union  Society  for  the  objects  therein  contemplated ; 
and  as  he  contravened  no  law  either  of  God  or  man, 
no  human  authority  had  a  right  to  require  him  to 
withdraw  from  it. 

"Specification  2.  A  manifest  determination  to 
rebel  against  the  government  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  by  sending  up  delegates  to  the 
Baltimore  convention." 

The  fact  that  the  accused  was  present  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Church,  which 
was  held  for  the  purpose,  to  appoint  delegates  to 
attend  a  general  convention  of  the  friends  of  reform 
at  Baltimore,  was  relied  on  to  support  this  item  in 
the  count.  During  the  interval  between  the  trial 
before  the  committee  and  the  sitting  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference  it  appears  that  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton 
had  been  quite  busy  in  traversing  the  country  and 
obtaining  certificates  from  a  distance  to  enable  him 
to  carry  his  point.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Bellamy  was  the 
only  person  brought  to  trial  on  Saturday,  the  first 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  215 

day  of  the  Quarterly  Conference  session.  The 
friends  of  mutual  rights  made  as  firm  and  resolute 
a  defence  in  his  case  as  possible ;  but  they  were  over- 
powered by  being  outnumbered.  The  prosecutor 
had  been  able  to  muster  a  majority  at  that  time  and 
place  to  sustain  his  measures  and  doctrines.  He 
was  no  novice  in  such  business. 

It  was  during  the  discussions,  pro  and  con,  that 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Carson  decided  "that  when  a 
preacher  is  appointed  to  a  circuit,  he  is  bound  to  go 
or  leave  the  itinerancy,  and  if  he  does  go,  every 
member  in  the  circuit  must  receive  him  and  give  him 
obedience  or  leave  the  church."  To  which  the 
late  Dr.  Jno.  F.  Bellamy,  a  member  of  the  Quar- 
terly Conference,  replied,  "that  when  a  preacher  is 
appointed  by  the  bishop  to  a  circuit,  he  must 
go,  and  has  no  appeal  therefrom,  I  am  fully  aware 
was  the  rock  on  which  O'Kelly  and  his  associates 
were  wrecked  ;  but  do  I  correctly  understand  you 
to  say  that,  if  he  does  go,  all  the  members  in 
the  circuit  are  bound  to  give  him  implicit  obe- 
dience?" The  chair  replied,  "You  do  correctly 
understand  me."  "  Then,"  said  Dr.  Bellamy,  "if 
this  be  the  odious  doctrine  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  I  will  not  stay  a  moment  longer  in  it, 
for  I  owe  implicit  obedience  to  none  but  my  God." 

The  local  ministers  were  well  aware  that  from 
the  similarity  of  the  charges  alleged,  the  fate  of  all 
would  be  determined  in  the  case  of  the  first.  The 
sun  had  gone  down.  Day  had  departed,  and 
sable  night  had  spread  her  curtains  of  darkness  all 


216  HISTORY    OF    THE 

around,  when  the  vote  was  taken,  and  the  Rev. 
William  Bellamy,  one  of  the  first  itinerant  preach- 
ers who  had  traveled  in  Carolina,  who  had  served 
as  yoke -fellow  with  Bishop  George  in  those  early 
days  of  Methodism,  was  found  guilty — expelled  the 
church — the  seal  of  official  silence  set  upon  his  lips. 
And  all  this  was  for  the  wondrous  offence  of 
being  in  favor  of  a  reformation  in  the  government 
of  the  church.  Surely  that  was  a  propitious  hour 
for  such  a  deed !  For  the  of  sake  religion  we  will 
pass  in  silence,  the  events  of  the  following  Sabbath 
day.  The  Quarterly  Conference  adjourned  until 
Monday.  The  remaining  six  local  ministers  saw 
nothing  before  them  but  what  they  had  seen  meted 
out  to  the  brother  whose  case  had  been  decided. 
Hope  had  departed,  but  they  were  determined  to 
face  the  storm  they  were  unable  to  resist,  with  that 
firmness  and  constancy  of  purpose  which  became 
men  possessed  of  unshaken  confidence  in  the  justice 
and  righteousness  of  their  principles.  Monday  came. 
The  Quarterly  Conference  met.  Minister  after  min- 
ister was  called  up — charged — found  guilty — de- 
posed from  the  sacred  office,  and  excluded  from  the 
communion  of  the  church.  They  had  served  the 
church  long  and  faithfully.  Five  of  them  had 
toiled  in  her  service  as  itinerants.  The  Rev.  James 
Hunter  had  filled  the  office  of  presiding  elder.  But 
these  labors,  these  services,  were  of  no  avail.  They 
were  guilty  of  being  in  favor  of  a  change  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  that  church,  and  therefore  unfit  to  de- 
clare the  sweet  and  consoling  truths  of  salvation — 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  217 

unfit  for  union  among  her  membership  or  com- 
munion with  her,  although  their  religious  morals 
were  above  suspicion. 

The  last  of  the  seven  ministers  who  were  ac- 
cused, Rev.  William  Price,  was  now  called  up.  He 
was  venerable  on  account  of  his  age  and  the  sanctity 
of  his  manners.  He  was  one  of  the  band  who  had 
followed  the  fortunes  of  Washington  from  battle- 
field to  battle-field.  He  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  nature  and  extent  of  his  right,  and  by  hard- 
earned  experience  well  knew  and  understood  what 
those  rights  had  cost.  After  having  looked  on  and 
witnessed  the  trials  and  expulsions  of  his  brethren, 
his  turn  had  now  arrived. 

The  charges  and  specifications  against  him  being 
read,  a  proposition  was  made  to  him,  that  if  he  would 
abandon  the  Union  Society,  and  give  up  his  princi- 
ples of  reform,  the  charges  would  be  withdrawn. 
This  proposition  was  met  with  a  scorn  becoming 
the  man.  His  speech  is  too  good  to  be  lost.  I 
shall  give  an  extract  of  a  letter  written  by  the  Rev. 
James  Hunter,  who  was  present,  addressed  to  the 
editor  of  the  "Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  Intel- 
ligencer," in  which  a  graphic  description  of  the 
address  is  given. 

North  Carolina,  November  3,  1828. 
Dear  Brother  : 

Since  I  wrote  to  you  we  have  had  warm  work  on 
old  Roanoke  Circuit.     The  Rev.  William  Comp- 
ton,   our   assistant,    and  the  Rev.  Joseph  Carson 
19 


218  HISTORY    OF    THE 

presiding  elder,  with  their  party,  have  succeeded 
in  excommunicating  seven  local  preachers,  (myself 
among  the  number,)  at  our  late  quarterly  meeting. 
They  had  the  policy  to  arrest  us  all  at  one  time, 
that  they  might  deprive  us  of  each  other's  votes. 
They  had  the  candor  to  acknowledge  that  they  did 
not  deal  with  us  for  any  act  of  immorality,  but  for 
our  adherence  to  the  cause  of  reform  ;  for  we  all 
refused  to  comply  with  their  insulting  and  degrad- 
ing terms,  namely,  to  withdraw  from  the  Union 
Society  and  cease  to  patronize  the  "  Mutual  Rights." 
Our  venerable  brother  Price,  just  before  the  sen- 
tence of  excommunication  was  passed  on  him,  ad- 
dressed the  president  and  the  conference  nearly  in 
the  following  words  :  "I  am  seventy-foar  years  old, 
have  been  a  Methodist  about  fifty  years.  I  w7as 
three  years  a  soldier  in  the  revolutionary  war ;  and 
while  a  prisoner,  a  British  officer  offered  me  a  great 
bribe  to  join  the  British  and  fight  against  my  coun- 
try, but  I  told  him,  if  I  had  one  hundred  lives  I 
would  lose  them  all  in  fighting  for  my  liberty  and 
my  country.  I  have  considered  well  my  situation, 
and  am  firm  in  my  purpose.  I  shall  not  forsake  the 
Union  Society.  I  remember  in  your  preaching 
yesterday  you  related  an  anecdote  of  two  birds 
singing  to  each  other  :  one  sang,  I  love  you,  I  love 
you  ;  the  other  responded,  show  it,  show  it.  Now 
if  you  love  me,  show  it."  The  firmness  of  the  old 
saint  inspired  us  all  with  fresh  courage  to  suffer  in 
so  righteous  a  course. 

James  Hunter. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  219 

What  admiration  this  pathetic  appeal  must  ex- 
cite in  the  bosom  of  every  lover  of  justice  and  of 
right !  The  old  veteran,  although  past  his  three- 
score years  and  ten,  and  staggering  under  the  press- 
ing hand  of  time,  his  sun  of  life  almost  ready  to  dip 
its  disc  in  the  ocean  of  eternity,  stands  arraigned 
upon  that  soil  (before  a  religious  tribunal)  for  the 
liberty  of  which  he  had  toiled,  fought  and  suffered 
for  three  years.  And,  stranger  still  to  relate,  "  the 
head  and  front  of  his  offending"  amounted  to  this, 
he  had  the  independence,  as  a  man,  to  think  for 
himself,  and  the  candor  to  give  expression  to  the 
sentiments  he  had  embraced,  concerning  the  polity 
of  the  church,  in  a  manner  which  he  deemed  per- 
fectly consonant  rwith  his  rights  as  a  man  and  a 
Christian.  He  is  found  guilty  of  all  this,  and  the 
aged  minister  of  Christ  is  cast  over  the  battlements 
of  the  church  as  unworthy  of  membership  in  it. 
And  all  this  was  done  in  Carolina,  where  the  notes 
of  American  independence  were  first  heard,  and 
upon  the  very  soil  which  had  been  consecrated  by 
the  blood  of  the  martyrs  of  liberty. 

Review  the  transactions  which  have  just  been 
recorded,  and  the  principles  which  prompted  and 
governed  the  same,  and  surely  every  candid  reader 
will  at  once  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  the  polity 
of  that  church  which  could  tolerate  and  practice 
such  measures,  stood  in  much  need  of  reformation. 

But  the  work  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  had 
before  him  was  not  yet  done.  Rev.  Caswell  Drake 
and  Rev.  R.  Davidson,  both  belonged  to  the  Roan- 


220  HISTORY    OF    THE 

oke  Union  Society,  although,  from  their  location  at 
the  extreme  end  of  the  circuit,  they  were  but  sel- 
dom able  to  attend  its  sittings.  The  former  at- 
tended the  trials  of  the  seven  local  ministers  at  the 
Quarterly  Conference,  and  defended  them  before 
that  body.  His  principles  and  sentiments  by  that 
means  became  no  longer  ambiguous,  and  he  was 
doomed  to  be  placed  upon  the  same  category  with 
the  devoted  seven.  In  a  few  days  after  the  trials 
at  Horeb,  Rev.  Mr.  Compton  arrived  at  Warrenton, 
at  which  place  the  two  local  preachers  above  men- 
tioned held  their  membership  in  society,  and  called 
upon  Rev.  Mr.  Davidson,  who  was  the  class-leader, 
and  demanded  the  "class-paper,"  stating  that  he 
wished  to  make  a  new  one.  He  received  the  paper 
containing  the  names  of  the  members  of  the  church, 
carried  it  away,  appointed  a  new  class  leader,  made 
out  a  new  class-paper  or  list,  containing  the  names 
of  those  who  wrere  members  of  the  church,  leaving 
off  the  names  of  the  two  local  preachers.  He  also 
called  together  the  trustees  of  the  church  at  that 
place,  (Rev.  C.  Drake  excepted,)  and  introduced 
and  secured  the  passage  of  a  resolution  prohibiting 
those  two  local  ministers  from  officiating  in  any  of 
their  pulpits,  upon  the  ground  that  they  were  no 
longer  within  the  pale  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

The  above  act  may  be  comprehended  in  what  is 
meant  by  the  term,  "scratch  law."  Who  has  ever 
read  of  such  a  mode  of  operation  in  ecclesiastical 
affairs  ?  Perhaps  none.  By  what  rule  or  law  were 
these  ministers  of  Christ  tried  ?     By  none  at  all ; 


METHODIST    FROTESTANT    CHURCH.  221 

no,  not  even  the  semblance  of  rule.  No  charges 
were  made  out,  no  citations  given,  no  trials  had, 
no  rule  of  Discipline  brought  into  requisition  in  the 
case ;  but  by  the  ecclesiastical  dictum  of  the  Rev. 
William  Compton,  and  the  dash  of  his  pen,  these 
two  members  of  the  church  of  Christ  are  stripped 
of  all  ministerial  functions  and  cast  from  the  bosom 
of  the  church,  without  receiving  even  the  semblance 
of  a  formal  notice  of  the  same.  Where  was  the  jus- 
tice, where  was  the  propriety  of  such  a  procedure 
as  this  ?  There  was  none.  It  was  worse  than 
arbitrary — it  was  tyrannical  in  the  extreme.  But  the 
heart  sickens  to  contemplate  such  transactions  as 
these.  Yet  "justice  should  be  done  though  the 
heavens  fall."  It  was  such  events  as  these  which 
we  have  recorded  that  led  to  the  organization  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church. 

The  Rev.  William  Compton  is  presented  before 
the  mind  of  the  reader  in  this  work  quite  conspicu- 
ously; and  the  writer  regrets  that  the  position 
assigned  him  is  one  so  unenviable  ;  but  truth  re- 
quired a  faithful  narrative,  and  the  actions  of  the 
man  are  recorded.  The  writer  adopts  the  sentiment 
of  Bishop  Burnett,  that  "whatever  moderation  or 
charity  we  owe  to  men's  persons,  we  owe  none  at 
all  to  their  errors,  and  to  that  frame  which  is  built 
on  and  supported  by  them."  Mr.  Compton  no 
doubt  felt  that  his  actions  were  prompted  by  cor- 
rect motives  at  that  time,  although  he  inflicted  such 
distress  upon  his  Christian  brethren.  But  he  is  no 
more — his  race  is  run ;  and  he  has  gone  to  the 
19* 


222  HISTORY    OF    THE 

presence  of  his  Maker,  and  his  actions  have  been 
weighed  by  the  Judge  of  all  the  earth.  The  writer 
here  takes  pleasure  in  recording  the  fact  that  Rev. 
Mr.  Compton  remarked  but  a  short  time  previous 
to  his  death,  to  a  member  of  the  M.  P.  Church,  that 
"  his  feelings  had  been  greatly  moderated  and  softened 
towards  the  reformers"  Of  that  fact  we  believe  none 
doubt. 

About  the  time  of  the  persecutions  upon  Roanoke, 
hostility  began  to  manifest  itself  in  different  parts 
of  North  Carolina  against  the  friends  of  mutual 
rights.  On  Albemarle  Circuit  in  particular,  which 
runs  through  the  district  of  country  lying  on  the 
south  side  of  Albemarle  Sound,  several  were 
ejected  from  the  church  without  the  semblance  of  a 
trial.  The  doctrines  of  mutual  rights  had  been 
embraced  by  a  few  persons  in  that  part  of  the 
country,  and  three  local  ministers,  the  Rev.  Joshua 
Swift,  Rev.  Swain  Swift,  and  Rev.  H.  Tackinton, 
were  understood  to  be  in  favor  of  a  reformation 
in  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

The  Rev.  William  W.  Hill  attended  an  appoint- 
ment to  preach  in  their  immediate  neighborhood, 
and  as  he  was  known  to  be  an  able  and  zealous 
advocate  of  the  subject  of  reform,  these  three  minis- 
ters requested  him  to  say  to  their  brethren  and 
neighbors  from  the  pulpit,  after  preaching,  that 
"  they  were  in  favor  of  the  doctrines  of  reform." 
The  announcement  was  simply  made,  according  to 
request. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  _22^;> 

The  preacher  in  charge  of  the  circuit,  Rev.  J.  D. 
Halstead,  being  at  that  time  in  a  part  of  the  circuit 
somewhat  remote,  learned  the  simple  narrative  of 
the  announcement;  and  upon  arriving  at  one  of  his 
appointments,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  place  at 
which  Rev.  W.  W.  Hill  had  preached,  proceeded, 
to  announce  from  the  pulpit  that  these  three  minis- 
ters, against  whose  moral  or  official  characters  no 
charges  had  been  alleged,  were  no  longer  ministers 
or  members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  !  What  an  out- 
rage upon  reason  and  upon  rights  ;  but  more  prop- 
erly an  outrage  upon  religion  !  The  inquiry  might 
arise,  what  was  their  offence,  that  they  were  thus 
summarily  disposed  of  without  form  of  trial  ?  The 
only  answer  at  hand  is  simply  this,  they  had  re- 
quested an  announcement  of  the  fact  that  "they 
were  in  favor  of  reform."  And  for  that  offence  the 
Rev.  J.  D.  Halstead  proceeded  to  declare  them 
out  of  the  pale  of  the  church.  Comment  is  un- 
necessary. The  simple  narrative  is  sufficient  to 
demonstrate  the  shameful  impropriety  of  such  an 
unrighteous  act. 

We  may  search  in  vain  for  any  authority  to  jus- 
tify the  conduct  of  Rev.  Messrs.  Halstead  and 
Compton,  in  thus  expelling  ministers  of  the  gospel 
from  the  church  without  the  form  or  semblance 
of  a  trial.  The  sacred  Scriptures  warrant  no  such 
procedure. 

But  the  General  Conference  cf  May,  1828,  had 
issued  a  pastoral  address,  signed  by  the  bishops 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,'  and  certain 


224  HISTORY    OF    THE 

doctrines  are  therein  laid  down  which  these  divines 
may  have  seized  upon  as  a  pretext  for  the  exercise 
of  such  high-handed  and  tyrannical  measures.  The 
objectionable  doctrines  set  forth  in  that  famous 
address  are  contained  in  the  following  remarkable 
sentence : 

"The  great  Head  of  the  church  himself  has  im- 
posed on  us  the  duty  of  preaching  the  gospel,  of 
administering  its  ordinances,  and  of  maintaining  its 
moral  discipline  among  those  over  whom  the  Holy 
Ghost,  in  these  respects,  has  made  us  overseers. 
Of  these  also,  viz:  of  gospel  doctrines,  ordinances, 
and  moral  discipline,  we  do  believe  that  the  divine- 
ly instituted  ministry  are  the  divinely  authorized 
expounders;  and  that  the  duty  of  maintaining  them 
in  their  purity,  and  of  not  permitting  our  ministra- 
tion in  these  respects  to  be  authoritatively  controlled 
by  others,  does  rest  upon  us  with  the  force  of  a 
moral  obligation." 

According  to  this  celebrated  manifesto,  "  the 
divinely  instituted  ministry  are  divinely  authorized 
expounders"  of  discipline;  consequently  ample 
grounds  aie  here  afforded  for  the  lovers  of  power 
and  authority  to  expound  the  same  as  best  suits 
their  views  of  propriety  or  bias  of  mind.  Indeed 
this  startling  declaration  of  the  General  Conference 
savors  very  much  of  the  claims  of  infallibility  set 
up  by  the  church  of  Rome.  It  is  flattering  to  the 
minds  of  ecclesiastical  aspirants,  and  no  doubt  may, 
and  does  turnish  such  as  presume  to  deviate  from 
the  common  path  of  disciplinary  regulations  by  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  225 

allurements  of  ambitious  feelings,  with  a  pretext 
for  their  arbitrary  measures.  Taking  every  possi- 
ble view  of  the  case  that  is  presented  at  the  present 
period,  wTe  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that,  in  the 
adoption  and  promulgation  of  such  doctrines  and 
sentiments,  the  General  Conference  could  have 
been  influenced  by  no  other  motives  than  a  de- 
sire to  strengthen  the  hands  of  the  itinerant  min- 
istry, and  to  impart  to  them  a  character  of 
authority,  whose  prerogatives  were  not  to  be 
questioned  by  the  local  ministry  and  membership 
of  the  church. 

Up  to  this  period  of  our  narrative,  there  had  been 
eight  lay  members  of  the  church  expelled  in  Caro- 
lina, (including  one  who  had  been  informally  cut 
off  on  Albemarle,)  on  account  of  their  opinions  con- 
cerning church  polity.  They  had  been  condemned 
and  ejected  from  the  church  contrary  to  the  known 
rules  of  that  church;  they  had  appealed  to  the 
Annual  Conference,  and  likewise  sent  up  charges 
to  that  body  against  Rev  Benton  Field,  preacher  in 
charge,  for  mal-administration.  The  conference 
decided  "it  was  not  mal-administration,"  and  there- 
by closed  the  doors  against  their  return.  Again 
we  find  that  twelve  ministers  had  been  cast  out 
from  the  church — seven  of  whom  were  admitted 
to  the  benefits  of  a  mock-trial,  and  five  were  dis- 
posed of  by  the  process  of  the  scratch  law.  To 
appeal  to  that  conference  which  had  sanctioned 
the  measures  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Field,  would  have 
been  useless;  therefore  no  appeal  was  made  but 


226  HISTORY    OF   THE 

lo  the  community,  to   their   friends,  and   to  their 
God. 

In  the  latter  part  of  this  year  (1828)  the  friends 
of  mutual  rights  in  Lynchburg,  Virginia,  suffered 
persecution  on  account  of  their  principles.  Two 
local  preachers  and  nine  laymen  were  expelled 
from  the  church  under  the  superintendency  of  the 
Rev.  W.  A.  Smith;  an  act  so  manifestly  unjust,  and 
so  void  of  all  semblance  of  Christian  charity,  that 
it  led  to  the  withdrawal  of  about  fifty  members 
from  the  communion  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  The 
ladies,  to  the  number  of  thirty-seven,  following  the 
laudable  example  set  them  by  their  sisters  in  Balti- 
more, addressed  a  letter  to  the  preacher  in  charge, 
setting  forth  the  reasons  for  taking  such  a  step,  and 
withdrew  in  a  body  from  the  church.  We  extract 
an  account  of  these  proceedings  from  the  Mutual 
Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer. 

Lyncheurg,  October  18,  1828. 
Rev.  D.  B.  Dorsey: 

Dear  Sir, — The  most  cogent  arguments  that  can 
be  advanced  by  the  friends  of  reform,  in  support 
of  the  principles  which  they  advocate,  are  feeble 
when  compared  with  those  demonstrative  facts  with 
which  our  opponents  furnish  us.  The  principles 
of  the  Methodist  government  had  not  been  devel- 
oped until  within  the  past  year.  It  began  with  you, 
and  each  subsequent  move  more  clearly  tends  to 
hold  them  out  to  public  view;  and  in  proportion 
as  they  are  felt  and  s,een  the  cause  of  reform  is 


METHODIST  PROTESTANT  CHURCH.      227 

advanced.  Such,  I  am  happy  to  say,  is  the  result 
in  this  place.  In  your  last  paper  you  noticed  the 
meeting  of  the  friends  of  reform  in  Lynchburg,  and 
published  their  resolutions.  Our  proceedings  were 
speedily  followed  by  citations  to  answer  before  a 
committee  for  "  endeavoring  to  sow  dissensions  in 
our  church  by  inveighing  against  its  Discipline." 
The  specification,  "  because  they  constituted  an  in- 
flammatory meeting,  on  the  evening  of  the  ISth  of 
September,  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
that  adopted  and  published  in  the  'Lynchburg 
Virginian'  a  certain  preamble  and  resolutions, 
signed  C.  Winfree,  chairman,  and  John  Victor, 
secretary,  of  an  inflammatory  character."  This 
meeting  was  attended  by  a  large  number  of  our 
most  respectable  citizens  ;  and  in  whatever  point 
of  view  it  might  be  regarded  by  our  opposing 
brethren,  we  have  the  united  testimony  of  a  disin- 
terested and  intelligent  public  to  sustain  us  in  say- 
ing that  it  was  conducted  in  an  orderly,  respectful 
and  dignified  manner.  As  to  the  character  of  the 
meeting,  however,  the  committee  did  not  express 
an  opinion.  The  character  and  tendency  of  the 
preamble  and  resolutions  were  the  ostensible  ground 
on  which  they  sustained  the  charge  and  specifica- 
tions. And  thus  for  the  expression  of  their  senti- 
ments, on  a  subject  of  mere  human  policy  and  con- 
venience, were  two  local  preachers  and  nine  lay 
members,  stewards,  leaders,  and  one  exhorter  cut 
off  from  the  communion  of  the  church.  I  hope  you 
will  publish  the  preamble,  that  an  enlightened  com- 


228  HISTORY    OF    THE 

munity  may-  distinctly  see  the  development  of  that 
principle  in  our  government,  and  that  policy  of  our 
irresponsible  rulers,  which  are  exerted  to  suppress 
the  freedom  of  speech  and  the  press,  apart  from  its 
licentious  use  ;  for  we  humbly  conceive  that  our 
sentiments  in  that  paper  are  expressed  in  a  calm, 
temperate  and  dignified  manner.  The  decision 
of  the  committee  was  of  course  sustained  by  the 
Quarterly  Meeting  Conference. 

Such  has  been  the  influence  of  these  measures, 
that  although  we  had  considered  our  number  but 
small,  we  now  find  that  we  are  surrounded  by  a 
host  of  warm  and  fast  friends  of  reform.  The 
females  assembled  and  addressed  a  letter  to  the 
preacher  in  charge,  a  copy  of  which  I  send  you, 
marked  A,  signed  by  thirty-seven  members.  Since 
that  there  have  been  other  secessions,  male  and 
female,  so  that  we  now  number  sixty-two  members, 
who  on  the  13th  inst.  formed  themselves  into  a  soci- 
ety, adopting  an  article  of  association,  and  receiv- 
ing the  Rev.  William  J.  Holcombe  and  John  Per- 
cival  as  licensed  preachers,  appointed  stewards 
and  leaders,  and  formed  three  classes.  A  sub- 
scription paper  was  opened  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  house  of  worship,  and  on  this  day  up- 
wards of  two  thousand  dollars  are  subscribed  for 
that  purpose.  In  the  meantime  the  houses  of  the 
Episcopalian,  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  denomina- 
tions are  open  for  our  accommodation.  Brother 
Holcombe  preached  on  last  Sabbath,  at  11  o'clock, 
in  the   Baptist  church ;  the  Episcopalian  will  be 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  229 

occupied  by  us  on  next  Sabbath  at  the  same 
hour,  and  the  Presbyterian  at  night.  Our  cause 
is  advancing  daily. 

A  number  of  our  Methodist  brethren  are  looking 
with  anxiety  to  the  convention ;  and  should  it  be 
determined  to  establish  an  independent  church, 
and  the  foundation  be  well  laid,  we  calculate  on  a 
very  large  addition  to  our  communion.  May  the 
great  Head  of  the  church  inspire  us  with  wisdom 
commensurate  with  this  importat  business.  Our 
meetings  are  well  attended ;  much  love  and  union 
prevail ;  and  the  members  seem  to  enjoy  the  life 
and  power  of  religion.  We  bear  with  patience 
the  opposition  and  hard  sayings  of  our  opposing 
brethren ;  nor  will  we  return  railing  for  railing. 
Yours,  in  much  love  and  esteem, 

J.  Victor. 

Copy  of  the  instrument  of  association  under  which  the 
reformers  united  on  the  13th  of  October,  1S2S. 

We,  the  undersigned,  formerly  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  Lynchburg,  some 
of  whom  have  been  expelled  from  the  fellowship 
of  that  body,  solely  for  our  reform  principles,  and 
others  who  have  withdrawn  from  that  church,  be- 
cause of  our  objection  to  its  government,  and  the 
arbitrary  and  oppressive  administration  of  its  Dis- 
cipline, have  agreed  to  unite  together  as  a  society 
of  original  Methodists.  Our  object  is  to  form,  in 
connection  with  reformers  generally,  a  system  of 
government  in  which  the  great  principles  of  7'epre- 

20 

• 


230  HISTORY    OF   THE 

sent  at  ion  and  mutual  rights  and  interests  shall  be  dis- 
tinctly acknowledged  in  connection  with  the  system 
of  an  itinerating  ministry.  With  these  views,  we 
will  wait  the  result  of  the  General  Convention  of 
reformers,  to  be  holden  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on 
the  12th  of  November  next.  And  we  now  solemnly 
unite,  in  the  name  of  the  great  Head  of  the  church, 
our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  receiving  the 
holy  Scriptures  as  our  guide;  and  for  practical 
reasons  adopting  as  an  instrument  of  union  the 
General  Rules  of  the  Rev.  John  and  Charles  Wes- 
ley, with  subsequent  regulations,  as  our  peculiar 
circumstances  may  from  time  to  time  require. 

Resolved,  that  we  receive  Dr.  W.  J.  Holcombe 
and  John  Percival  (who  have  sustained  the  office 
of  licensed  preachers  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  for  upwards  of  four  years)  as  licensed 
preachers  of  this  association,  and  that  certificates 
of  this  our  approbation  and  appointment  be  given  to 
these  our  brethren  by  the  chairman  of  this  meeting, 
and  countersigned  by  the  secretary. 

And  further,  that  George  Percival,  who  has  for 
many  years  sustained  the  office  of  exhorter  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  be  received  in  this 
association  in  the  same  capacity,  and  that  a  certifi- 
cate of  this  our  approbation  and  appointment  be  in 
like  manner  given  him. 

C.  Winfree,  Chairman. 

J.  Victor,  Secretary. 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  231 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Resolutions  of  the  Union  Society  in  Cincinnati.— Trials  and  ex- 
pulsions of  ministers. — Secession  of  a  large  body  of  members 
from  the  M.  E.  Church. — Letter  of  Dr.  Bishop  to  Rev.  Mr. 
Wright. — Call  of  a  General  Convention  for  1828. 

Previous  to  the  sitting  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence of  182S,  a  memorial  was  drawn  up  by  the 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  at  Cincinnati,  and 
presented  to  that  body  when  in  session. 

The  memorialists  in  their  address  justly  repre- 
hended the  prosecutions  which  had  been  had,  in 
Baltimore  and  other  places,  against  the  members 
of  the  church  on  account  of  their  opinions  concern- 
ing church  polity  ;  and  respectfully  prayed  the  con- 
ference to  restore  all  such  to  their  former  standing 
as  had  been  expelled,  and  also  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  would  prevent  the  recurrence  of  sim- 
ilar evils. 

On  the  26th  of  June  the  Union  Society  met,  and 
appointed  a  committee  of  five  members  to  receive 
the  report  of  the  General  Conference  on  petitions 
and  memorials,  and  to  report  thereon.  On  the  10th 
of  July  the  society  met  to  receive  the  report  of  their 
committee,  which  was  read  and  adopted,  and  the 
following  resolutions  passed. 

"Resolved  1.  That  we  cannot  but  approve  of 
the  conduct  of  our  expelled  brethren  in  Baltimore, 


232  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  rejecting  proposals  evidently  so  partial  and  un- 
just, and  difficult  to  be  complied  with. 

"  Resolved  2.  That  we  feel  extremely  gratified 
at  that  degree  of  peace  and  prosperity  with  which 
they  appear  to  be  at  present  favored,  and  we  sin- 
cerely pray  that  it  may  be  long  continued. 

"  Resolved  3.  That  according  to  our  present 
feelings  and  sentiments,  we  ought  and  do  therefore 
design  to  patronize  the  'Mutual  Rights,'  and  to 
continue  the  Union  Society  until  the  meeting  of  the 
convention  in  November  next,  and  then  be  governed 
as  circumstances  may  seem  to  direct. 

''Resolved  4.  That  in  order  to  prevent  unpleas- 
ant feelings,  we  will  use  our  influence  with  the 
editors  of  the  above  named  periodical  not  to  insert 
in  its  pages  any  matter  calculated  to  excite  the 
effects  above  stated. 

"  Resolved  5.  That  it  is  our  wish  to  promote  peace 
and  concord ;  and  whatever  we  can  safely  surren- 
der to  our  old  side  brethren,  for  peace  and  quiet- 
ness' sake,  we  feel  disposed  to  do  it.  But  the 
liberty  of  speech  and  of  the  press,  with  the  right  to 
assemble  peaceably  and  orderly,  to  discuss  church 
government  or  any  other  subject  we  may  think  pro- 
per to  take  up,  is  what  we  cannot  relinquish  to  any 
human  authority  whatever." 

After  the  passage  of  the  above  resolutions,  it  was 
stated  by  some  high  in  authority  that  the  Cincin- 
nati reformers  had  passed  the  Rubicon,  and  could 
no  longer  be  tolerated. 

On  the  17th  of  July  fourteen  members  of  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  233 

Union  Society  were  waited  on  by  a  prosecuting 
committee  of  the  following  members:  Christopher 
Smith,  Robert  Richardson,  Sacker  Nelson  and  Lit- 
tleton Quinton. 

On  the  25th  of  July  brother  William  Young,  a 
local  preacher,  was  served  with  charges,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy;  and  notified  to  appear  for 
trial  at  the  Stone  church,  at  9  o'clock  on  Friday, 
the  14th  day  of  August. 

"  Rev.  Wm.  Young;  is  charged  with  endeavoring 
to  sow  dissensions  in  the  society  or  church,  in  this 
station  or  city,  known  by  the  name  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  and  with  the  violation  of  that 
general  rule  of  Discipline  of  said  church  which 
prohibits  members  from  doing  harm,  and  requires 
them  to  avoid  evil  of  every  kind ;  and  especially 
with  violating  that  clause  of  said  general  rule 
which  prohibits  speaking  evil  of  ministers. 

"  Specification  1.  Because  the  said  Wm.  Young, 
while  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
did  heretofore  attach  himself  to,  and  become  a 
member  of  the  society  called  the  Union  Society  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  of  Cincinnati;  which  Union  So- 
ciety is  in  opposition  to  the  Discipline,  in  whole  or 
in  part,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  has 
arrayed  and  combined  all  the  workings  of  the  spirit 
of  party  in  their  pernicious  and  destructive  forms, 
distinguishing  its  members  as  organized  and  sys- 
tematic opponents  of  the  church  aforesaid. 

"  Specification  2.  Because  the  said  Wm.  Young 
as  a  member  of  the  said  Union  Society,  directly 
20* 


234  HISTORY    OF    THE 

or  indirectly,  either  by  pecuniary  contributions  or 
his  personal  influence,  aiding,  abetting,  co-operat- 
ing or  assisting  in  the  publication  or  circulation  of  a 
work  called  '  The  Mutual  Rights  of  the  ministers 
and  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,' 
printed  in  Baltimore,  (for  proof  of  which  see  '  Mu- 
tual Rights,'  No.  44,  page  230,  2d  resolution ;)  which 
periodical  work  or  publication  called  the  '  Mutual 
Rights,'  &c,  contains  among  other  things  much 
that  inveighs  against  the  Discipline  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  aforesaid,  in  whole  or  in  part, 
and  is  in  direct  opposition  thereto,  and  that  is 
abusive  or  speaks  evil  of  a  part  if  not  of  most  of  the 
ministers  of  that  church;  the  general  tendency  of 
which  periodical  work  has  been  to  produce  and  con- 
tinues to  produce  disagreement,  strife,  contention 
and  breach  of  union  among  the  members  of  said 
church  in  this  city  or  station. 

"Specification  3.  Because  the  said  Wm.  Young, 
as  a  member  of  the  Union  Societ}r  aforesaid,  did  at 
a  meeting  of  said  society,  held  on  the  evening  of  the 
10th  of  this  month  (July),  vote  for  or  otherwise 
agree  to  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution, 
viz:  'That  according  to  our  present  feelings  and 
sentiments,  Ave  ought  and  therefore  design  to  patron- 
ize '  The  Mutual  Rights,'  and  to  continue  the 
Union  Society  until  the  meeting  of  the  convention 
in  November  next,  and  then  to  be  governed  as  cir- 
cumstances may  seem  to  direct;'  which  resolution, 
on  account  of  the  licentious  manner  in  wrhich  the 
periodical  called   'Mutual   Rights'  has  been  con- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  235 

ducted,  and  on  account  of  the  discord  and  strife  pro- 
duced by  the  organization  and  continuation  of  a 
distinct  body,  within  the  bosom  of  the  church, 
called  the  Union  Society,  is  a  plain  violation  of  the 
existing  regulations  under  which  we  are  voluntarily 
associated  as  Methodists  and  as  Methodist  ministers, 
and  is  in  opposition  to  the  judgment  and  advice 
of  the  late  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  and  is  well  calculated  to  produce 
and  increase  the  disagreement,  strife,  contention 
and  breach  of  union  alluded  to  in  the  3d  specifica- 
tion. For  proof  of  which  the  publication  entitled 
the  'Mutual  Rights  of  the  ministers  arid  members 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church'  is  referred 
to,  and  particularly  the  following  pnpers." 

The  papers  here  referred  to  are  the  same  as  those 
presented  upon  the  trial  of  Dr.  S.  K.  Jennings  at 
Baltimore.  From  a  careful  comparison,  the  reader 
cannot  doubt  that  the  preceding  charges  and  speci- 
fications were  framed  after  the  model  or  original 
invented  by  the  prosecuting  committee  in  Balti- 
more ;  therefore  the  same  papers  pressed  into  ser- 
vice in  that  city  would  answer  the  purpose  in 
Cincinnati. 

Upon  the  meeting  of  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Con- 
ference, it  was  determined,  in  order  to  obviate  exist- 
ing difficulties,  to  appoint  a  committee  to  confer 
with  a  committee  on  the  part  of  the  Union  Society. 
The  committee  were  vested  with  authority  in  case 
of  a  failure  to  reconcile  the  difficulties,  to  devise  a 
plan  for  a  separation,  and  to  report  to  the  church 


236  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  result.  Several  communications  passed  be- 
tween the  two  committees,  but  no  terms  were 
agreed  upon.  The  friends  of  reform  were  willing 
to  abolish  their  Union  Society,  but  wished  to  re- 
serve to  themselves  the  right  to  assemble  as  mem- 
bers of  the  church,  for  the  purpose  of  transacting 
such  business  as  they  might  think  proper,  for  the 
purpose  of  promoting  the  cause  of  reform  in  the  M. 
E.  Church.  They  likewise  refused  to  withdraw 
their  support  from  the  "  Mutual  Rights  "  at  present, 
and  in  case  they  did  yield  that,  they  wished  to  re- 
serve to  themselves  the  right  to  disseminate  their 
sentiments  through  such  a  medium  as  they  might 
see  proper  to  select.  The  committee  of  the  Quar- 
terly Conference  regarded  such  terms  as  altogether 
inadmissible,  and  the  correspondence  closed  with- 
out any  thing  being  effected. 

A  few  days  afterwards  thirteen  others  were  sum- 
moned to  trial  upon  charges  and  specifications 
similar  in  every  respect  to  those  alleged  against 
Rev.  Mr.  Young.  Prosecutions  having  been  thus 
commenced,  involving  principles,  rights  and  inter- 
ests of  an  important  nature  to  every  friend  of 
religious  liberty,  the  reformers  resolved  to  make 
common  cause  in  the  coming  contest. 

After  being  summoned  to  attencl  trial,  the  follow- 
ing vote  was  sent  to  the  preacher  in  charge,  asking 
the  privilege  of  trial  before  the  society  of  which 
they  were  members,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  Discipline. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  237 

Cincinnati,  August  9,  1828. 
Rev.  John  F.  Wricht  : 

Dear  Brother, — We  have  received  the  charges 
which  have  been  preferred  against  us  by  brothers 
Quinton,  Richardson,  Smith  and  Nelson. 

We  have  now  to  ask  for  the  privilege  granted  in 
our  Discipline  to  an  accused  member,  viz :  the 
rio-ht  of  trial  before  the  society  of  which  we  are 
members.  We  would  be  glad  if  you  would  send 
us  an  answer  by  the  bearer.  Moses  Lyon, 

E.  Hall. 

To  the  preceding  note  Mr.  Wright  saw  proper 
to  make  the  following  reply. 

Cincinnati,  August  9,  1828. 
Messrs.  Lyon  and  Hall  : 

In  answer  to  your  note,  I  need  only  say  the  privi- 
lege you  ask  for  is  utterly  impracticable.  Neither 
you  nor  myself  have  power  to  compel  members  to 
attend;  so  that,  if  such  a  course  should  be  deter- 
mined on,  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that  no 
investigation  could  be  had  in  the  case. 

Yours,  &c.  J.  F.  Wright. 

The  objection  urged  by  Mr.  Wright  against 
granting  the  "disciplinary  privilege,"  requested  by 
Messrs.  Lyon  and  Hall,  is  exceedingly  strange. 
In  the  first  place,  it  seemed  to  amount  to  a  reflec- 
tion upon  the  membership  of  the  church,  virtually 
presuming  a  disregard,  on  their  part,  of  the  inter- 
est of  the  church.  In  the  next  place,  it  might  be 
presumed   that   he  regarded  this   rule  passed  by 


23S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  General  Conference,  as  an  impracticable  one. 
Neither  of  which  positions  can  be  regarded  as  true. 
But  the  key  to  his  objections  was  possibly  this  :  he 
feared  the  decision  of  the  matter  before  the  society. 

On  Sunday,  August  the  10th,  the  ministers  offi- 
ciating in  the  different  Methodist  churches  in  Cin- 
cinnati, were  requested  to  read  notices  from  the 
pulpits  inviting  the  attendance  of  the  members  at 
Stone  church,  on  the  following  Wednesday,  at 
which  time  and  place  business  of  importance  would 
be  brought  before  them. 

This  call  upon  the  membership  was  made  by  the 
trustees  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  an  expression 
of  their  sentiments  in  regard  to  the  proceedings 
which  had  been  instituted.  Some  of  the  preachers 
refused  to  read  the  notices,  and  one  recalled  in  the 
afternoon  what  he  had  published  in  the  morning. 

Although  opposition  to  the  meeting  was  thus 
offered,  a  considerable  gathering  of  the  members 
took  place.  The  objeci  of  the  meeting  being 
stated,  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously 
adopted : 

"  1.  That  the  trustees  of  this  station  have  au- 
thority to  call  the  church  together  on  business  in 
relation  thereto,  whenever  they  are  of  opinion  such 
call  is  necessary,  and  all  such  calls  we  consider 
leffal  and  valid. 

"2.  That  at  such  meetings,  whatever  business 
is  laid  before  the  church,  a  majority  shall  decide 
thereon,  and  that  decision  shall  be  binding. 

"3.    That   as   these   prosecutions    most   clearly 


JWETHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


.-239 


involve  a  violation  of  that  sacred  trust  committed  to 
us  by  our  forefathers,  viz:  the  liberty  of  speech  and 
of  the  press,  and  as  they  are  contrary  to  the  spirit 
and  genius  of  our  holy  religion,  unacknowledged 
by  our  book  of  Discipline,  and  highly  dangerous  to 
our  civil  and  religious  liberties,  we  hereby  express 
our  entire  disapprobation  of  such  proceedings. 

"4.  That  from  any  view  we  are  able  to  take  of 
these  matters,  the  alleged  grounds  of  complaint  are 
totally  insufficient  to  sustain  the  charges  here  pre- 
ferred. 

"5.  That  forasmuch  as  some  of  our  accused 
brethren  have  required  of  the  preacher  in  charge  an 
investigation  of  these  complaints  before  the  church, 
and  as  the  preacher  in  charge  has  denied  that  privi- 
lege, a  privilege  which  is  granted  in  the  Discipline 
of  said  church,  a  right  which,  from  the  peculiar  and 
uncommon  nature  of  these  charges,  is  imperiously 
called  for,  we  hereby  declare  we  shall  acknowledge 
no  expulsions  as  valid  or  legal  where  such  right  has 
been  denied. 

"6.  That  we  respectfully  submit  to  the  preacher 
in  charge,  the  propriety  of  immediately  withdraw- 
ing these  prosecutions,  as  the  objects  for  which  they 
were  instituted  can  never  be  accomplished  thereb}7. 

"  7.  That  should  the  preacher  in  charge  reject  our 
counsel  and  advice  in  relation  to  these  prosecutions, 
we  hereby  authorize  and  command  our  brethren, 
the  trustees  of  this  station,  to  adopt  such  measures 
to  enforce  a  compliance  with  our  wishes,  as  above 
stated,  as  they  may  judge  necessary. 


240  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"8.  That  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  passed  by  the 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of 
this  station,  be  presented,  by  the  trustees  of  said 
church,  to  the  Rev.  John  F.  Wright,  preacher  in 
charge. 

"  9.  That  the  trustees  be  required  to  have  the  re- 
solutions passed  by  this  meeting,  recorded  in  the 
church  book." 

A  copy  of  the  preceding  resolutions  was  present- 
ed to  "the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  accompanied  by  the 
following  note : 

Cincinnati,  August  13,  1828. 

Dear  Brother, — We  herewith  send  you  a  copy 
of  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church  in  Cincinnati,  at  a  meeting  held  this 
day  agreeably  to  public  notice  given  by  the  trustees 
of  this  station.  We  request  you  to  inform  us  by 
the  bearer  whether  you  design  to  act  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  said  church. 

Trustees. 

Rev.  J.  F.  Wright. 

Mr.  Wright  replied  in  the  following  note: 

Cincinnati,  August  14,  1828. 

To  the  Trustees, — In  answer  to  your  note,  I 
beg  leave  to  remark  that,  in  my  humble  opinion,  the 
trustees  have  exceeded  the  power  vested  in  them 
by  the  law  of  incorporation,  by  taking  jurisdiction 
over  and  interfering  with  the  spiritual  concerns  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  this  station,  (as 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  241 

trustees,)  inasmuch  as  their  office  only  contemplates 
their  having  control  of  temporal  affairs. 

You  wish  me  to  say  whether  I  "  design  to  act  in 
accordance  with  the  wishes  of  said  church."  To 
which  I  answer,  from  the  smallness  of  the  number 
convened  together  on  yesterday,  and  as  I  am  in- 
formed but  few  voted,  I  cannot  suppose  the  wish  of 
the  church  is  yet  ascertained.  No  regular  investi- 
gation has  yet  been  made,  and  I  feel  myself  bound, 
as  preacher  in  charge,  to  attend  to  the  business  as 
the  Discipline  of  our  church  directs. 

Yours,  &c.  J.  F.  Wright. 

On  the  14th  of  August  the  trials  of  the  local 
preachers  came  on.  There  were  four  of  them,  viz: 
David  English,  J.  B.  Dorman,  J.  Haughton,  and 
William  Young.  The  committee  appointed  to  sit 
on  the  trials  consisted  of  Daniel  Duvall,  J.  Walls, 
and  John  Clark.  The  accused  brethren  urged  ob- 
jections against  each  one  of  them.  Mr.  Clark  was 
a  man  whose  rabid  opposition  to  the  cause  of  re- 
form rendered  him  particularly  objectionable,  but 
all  objections  were  overruled. 

As  various  articles  published  in  the  "Mutual 
Rights,"  had  been  relied  upon  by  the  prosecuting 
committee  to  sustain  the  charges,  they  proceeded 
to  read,  as  evidence,  items  of  different  articles  from 
that  work.  The  accused  brethren  objected  to  the 
proceedings  in  this  respect,  and  insisted  that  the 
whole  of  each  article  should  be  read,  in  order  that 
the  true  meaning  and  understanding  of  each  essay 
21 


242  HISTORY    OF    THE 

might  be  had.  To  this  objections  were  made,  on 
the  ground  that  it  would  occupy  too  much  time. 
Late  in  the  afternoon  the  evidence  closed  on  the 
part  of  the  prosecution.  Three  of  the  accused 
ministers  then  addressed  the  committee  in  their  de- 
fence. They  urged  the  impropriety  of  being  held 
responsible  for  the  written  sentiments  of  other  men, 
and  those  men,  too,  itinerant  ministers,  members  of 
Annual  Conferences,  responsible  to  the  same,  and 
within  the  reach  and  control  of  the  rules  of  the 
church.  They  also  took  the  grounds  that  the  ques- 
tion at  issue  was  neither  of  a  personal  nor  private 
character,  and  consequently  could  not  be  decided, 
with  any  degree  of  propriet}r,  by  such  church  prose- 
cutions; that  neither  Union  Societies,  nor  such  pe- 
riodicals on  church  polity  as  the  Mutual  Rights, 
were  condemned  by  the  word  of  God,  or  forbidden 
in  the  Discipline  of  the  church  of  which  they  were 
members. 

They  retired  for  the  night,  and  on  the  following 
day  pronounced  the  accused  ministers  guilty  of  the 
charges  which  had  been  preferred  against  them ; 
consequently  they  were  suspended  from  all  minis- 
terial functions  until  the  sitting  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference. 

August  15th.  the  trial  of  the  ten  lay  members 
came  on.  Upon  the  opening  of  the  trial,  the  ac- 
cused brethren  arose,  and  one  of  their  number,  as 
spokesman,  read  the  following  paper: 

"  As  accused  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church   of    Cincinnati,    we   claim    the   privileges 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  243 

granted  us  in  the  fifth  restrictive  rule  of  the  Disci- 
pline of  our  church,  in  the  following  words,  to  wit: 
'Neither  shall  they  (ihe  General  Conference)  do 
away  the  privileges  of  our  members,  of  trial  before 
the  society  or  by  committee,  and  of  an  appeal.' 

"  We  do,  therefore,  protest  against  being  tried 
before  a  committee  or  select  number  of  said  church 
contrary  to  our  wishes  or  consent;  and  we  do  hereby 
notify  you  that  we  will  not  submit  to  any  decision 
in  our  cases,  unless  such  decision  shall  be  made  by 
the  society  of  which  we  are  members. 

"Signed,  E.  Hall,  W.  L.  Chappell,  H.  Handy, 
S.  Ashley,  T.  Wright,  James  Foster,  M.  Lyon,  J. 
Snyder,  J.  Garretson,  G.  Lee." 

The  disciplinary  privilege  claimed  by  the  ac- 
cused, was  disallowed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  and 
they  immediately  withdrew  from  the  house.  The 
trials  proceeded,  and  the  ten  brethren  were  all 
found  guilty  of  the  charges  and  specifications,  and 
in  a  few  days  the  preacher  in  charge  sent  the  fol- 
lowing note  of  admonition  to  each  one.  The  copy 
is  taken  from  that  sent  to  Mr.  Hall. 

Cincinnati,  August  18,  1828. 
Brother  Hall, — I  take  this  method  of  discharg- 
ing the  painful  duty  of  administering  reproof,  which 
devolves  on  me  on  account  of  my  present  situation. 
You  have  been  convicted  of  endeavoring  to  sow 
dissensions  in  the  society  or  church  of  which  you 
are  a  member,  by  a  decision  of  the  committee  ap- 
pointed to  investigate  the  charges  preferred  against 
you. 


244  HISTORY   OF    THE 

You  therefore  plainly  discover  that  the  only 
ground  on  which  expulsion  from  the  church  can  be 
avoided,  is  an  abandonment  of  the  course  which 
you  have  for  some  time  past  pursued,  and  which, 
according  to  the  judgment  of  your  brethren  of  the 
committee,  is  calculated  to  produce  diagreement, 
strife,  contention  and  breach  of  union  among  the 
members  of  our  church. 

As  you  are  the  arbiter  of  your  own  destiny  in 
this  matter,  I  hope  you  will  inform  me  in  writing, 
by  Wednesday  evening  next,  if  you  should  feel 
disposed  to  comply  with  the  above  condition. 

Yours,  &c.  •     JoHisigF.  Wright. 

While  the  prosecutions  were  thus  pending,  the 
reformers,  feeling  deeply  interested  in  the  issue, 
held  consultations  together  as  to  the  proper  course 
to  be  pursued  under  the  circumstances.  They 
were  informed  by  the  best  of  legal  authority  that 
according  to  the  civil  law  they  could  compel  Mr. 
Wright  to  grant  the  lay  members  the  privilege  of  a 
trial  before  the  society;  or,  in  case  of  a  refusal  on 
his  part,  commit  him  to  jail  by  a  writ  of  mandamus. 
Reports  were  likewise  in  circulation  that  another 
catalogue  of  names  of  the  members  of  the  Union 
Society,  to  the  number  of  about  thirty,  had  been 
made  in  view  of  prosecution.  The  trustees  em- 
braced the  opinion  that  some  prompt  step  should 
be  taken  in  order  to  arrest  the  tide  of  prosecution ; 
and  after  much  consultation  and  interchange  of 
views  one  with  another,  they  recommended  that 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  245 

"  forasmuch  as  no  peace  can  be  enjoyed  in  the 
church,  reformers  in  a  body  had  better  withdraw." 
An  appointment  was  therefore  made  for  the  re- 
formers and  their  friends  to  meet  at  the  Stone 
church,  at  2  o'clock  on  Monday,  18th  of  August, 
for  the  purpose  of  formally  withdrawing  from  the 
church.  At  the  hour  appointed  a  considerable  con- 
course had  assembled,  and  the  meeting  had  been 
opened  in  due  form;  and  its  object  being  stated, 
about  two  hundred  and  forty  gave  in  their  names, 
thereby  formally  withdrawing  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  In  the  following  letter,  ad- 
dressed to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wright,  their  reasons  for 
taking  this  step  are  fairly  and  candidly  stated : 

Letter  to  Rev.  J.  F.  Wright  from  the  seceding  members 
of  the  M.  E.  Church  of  Cincinnati. 

Sir, — We  have  beheld  with  unfeigned  sorrow 
and  regret  the  proceedings  lately  had  against  our 
brethren,  by  way  of  distinction  called  reformers,  in 
this  city.  These  proceedings,  we  are  compelled  to 
say,  are  distinguished  by  cruelty  and  oppression  in 
their  most  afflicting  forms.  You,  sir,  are  not  igno- 
rant that  the  church  in  this  station  expressed,  at  a 
public  meeting  called  by  the  trustees  for  that  pur- 
pose, their  entire  disapprobation  of  these  prose- 
cuting measures.  You  have  also  been  advised  not 
to  proceed,  and  forewarned  of  the  awful  conse- 
quences, by  brethren  whose  judgment  it  was  your 
duty  to  respect.     Nevertheless,  led  on  and  assisted 

21* 


246  HISTORY    OF    THE 

by  a  set  of  men,  some  of  whom  are  remarkable  for 
their  ignorance,  others  for  their  deep-rooted  preju- 
dices, and  some  by  tempers  of  the  most  inflamma- 
tory character,  yon  have  summoned  a  number  of 
our  brethren  before  a  partial  tribunal,  prepared  to 
do  the  direful  deed ;  and  thus  by  the  most  unjusti- 
fiable measures  you  have  procured  the  condemna- 
tion of  our  brethren,  whose  characters  stand  fair 
before  both  the  church  and  the  world.  In  these 
proceedings  you  must  be  aware  you  can  neither  be 
sustained  by  the  Discipline  of  our  church  nor  by 
the  laws  of  our  country.  By  an  appeal  to  that  tri- 
bunal we  can  compel  you  to  accede  to  the  reason- 
able request  of  our  brethren.  Alas!  we  lament  to 
prove  that  civil  law  alone  will  induce  any  Method- 
ist preacher  to  accede  to  what  religion  and  justice 
require.  Oh  !  "  tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in 
the  streets  of  Askelon,"  lest  the  uncircumcised,  the 
enemies  of  Christianity,  triumph.  But  unwilling 
to  avail  ourselves  of  the  advantages  we  thus  pos- 
sess, we  have  determined  to  secede,  and  leave  our 
brethren  in  the  quiet  possession  of  our  sanctuary, 
our  home,  for  peace  and  quietness'  sake,  and  seek  a 
place  where  a  watchful  Providence  shall  direct  our 
way.  We  therefore  request  of  you,  forthwith,  cer- 
tificates of  our  good  standing  and  character;  and 
pray  that  you  and  your  associates  in  these  unhal- 
lowed prosecutions  may  find  mercy  in  the  day  of 
the  Lord  Jesus. 

Cincinnati,  August  18,  1828. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  247 

THE    LOCAL    MINISTERS. 

The  court  which  had  been  convened  to  try  them 
had  no  authority  further  than  to  suspend  them  from 
the  exercise  of  ministerial  functions,  therefore  their 
several  cases  came  up  properly  before  the  ensuing 
Quarterly  Conference.  By  the  time  this  body  met, 
owing  to  secessions,  removals  from  office,  &c,  the 
friends  of  reform  were  in  the  minority.  Before  a 
tribunal  composed  almost  entirely  of  the  supporters 
of  arbitrary  power,  many  of  them  being  the  official 
creatures  of  the  preacher  in  charge,  no  other  de- 
cision could  have  been  looked  for  than  that  which 
was  rendered,  viz:  a  confirmation  of  the  verdict 
rendered  by  the  committee — consequently  the  local 
ministers  were  all  expelled  from  the  church. 

However,  the  Quarterly  Conference,  willing  to 
put  on  the  semblance  of  lenity,  proposed  terms  to 
the  expelled,  in  the  form  of  a  resolution,  upon  which 
they  might  still  retain  their  standing  in  the  church  ; 
those  terms  being  such  as  no  reasonable  man  could 
believe  that  they,  under  all  the  circumstances, 
would  for  a  moment  entertain — the  conditions  thus 
offered  requiring  them  to  withdraw  from  the  Union 
Society,  and  to  cease  to  patronize  the  "  Mutual 
Rights."  Such  conditions  had  no  charms  for  the 
expelled. 

The  following  official  notice  was  sent  to  the  local 
ministers,  containing  the  decision  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference  in  their  cases  : 

Dear  Brother, — The  conference  have  made  it 
my  duty  to  inform  you  of  their  decision.      They 


248  HISTORY    OF    THE 

have  found  you  guilty  of  the  charge,  with  its  sev- 
eral specifications ;  and  have  passed  a  resolution 
that  if  you  promise  to  desist  from  the  course  in 
future  for  which  they  censure  you,  viz:  that  you 
withdraw  from  the  Union  Society,  and  that  you 
cease  to  patronize  the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  that  you 
retain  your  standing  in  the  church. 
Yours,  affectionately, 

G.  R.  Jones,  President. 
Rev.  W.  Young. 

To  the  above  note  the  Rev.  Mr.  Youno;  sent  the 
following  reply  : 

Dear  Brother, — As  it  respects  the  decision  of 
the  conference  in  my  case,  which  you  gave  me  last 
evening,  which  informed  me  that  they  considered 
me  guilty  of  the  charges  preferred  against  me,  I 
expected  nothing  else,  from  a  belief  that  the  com- 
mittee of  local  preachers  and  a  majority  of  the 
Quarterly  Conference  were  selected  with  an  eye  to 
this  decision. 

Concerning  the  proposition  made  to  me  by  the 
conference,  viz:  to  withdraw  from  the  Union  Soci- 
ety, and  cease  to  patronize  the  "  Mutual  Rights,"  I 
have  only  to  say,  I  shall  reserve  to  myself  the 
right  to  patronize  and  read  such  books  as  my 
judgment  shall  from  time  to  time  direct;  and  for 
the  matter  contained  therein  I  shall  endeavor  at 
all  times  to  pass  judgment  with  a  reference  to  the 
rule  of  right.  I  shall  continue  to  think  it  a  right 
belonging  to  me  to  converse  with  my  brethren,  in 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  249 

society  meetings  or  otherwise,  on   the  subject  of 
church  government  or  any  other  lawful  subject. 

I  have  now  to  say  that  I  consider  the  proceedings 
in  my  case  to  be  illegal,  and  the  decision  to  be  un- 
just, and  from  it  I  shall  appeal  to  the  Annual 
Conference.     I  remain  yours,  &c. 

William  Young. 

The  four  local  ministers  took  an  appeal  to  the 
ensuing  Annual  Conference,  but,  as  might  have  been 
expected,  that  body  confirmed  the  decision  of  the 
court  below.  The  brethren  who  had  seceded  from 
the  church  were  now  destitute  of  a  place  of  worship, 
but  were  very  kindly  accommodated  by  being  ten- 
dered the  use  of  the  Second  Presbyterian  and  Epis- 
copal churches.  Verily  they  were  enabled  to  adopt 
the  language  of  the  psalmist  and  say,  "  When  my 
father  and  my  mother  forsake  me,  then  the  Lord 
will  take  me  up." 

They  were  regularly  supplied  with  the  ministra- 
tion of  the  word  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Bishop,  Price,  and 
others.  And  now  we  have  to  record  an  act  at 
which  the  feelings  of  every  Christian,  in  whose  heart 
the  spirit  of  the  Redeemer  dwells,  must  revolt. 
The  preaching  of  the  gospel  of  Christ  to  the  breth- 
ren who  had  seceded,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bishop,  gave 
offence  to  the  presiding  elder,  who  notified  him  that 
he  should  institute  charges  against  him  at  the 
approaching  Annual  Conference  for  such  conduct. 
This  man  in  high  authority  was  prompt  to  redeem 
his  word.     Charges  were  presented  to  conference, 


250  HISTORY    OF    THE 

but  that  body  decided  that  they  were  not  just 
grounds  of  complaint  against  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bishop. 
But  they  requested  him  by  vote  not  to  preach  the 
gospel  of  Christ  to  those  persons  in  Cincinnati  who 
had  seceded  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
on  account  of  the  prosecutions  which  had  been 
instituted  there. 

In  this  vote  of  the  Annual  Conference  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Bishop  felt  himself  as  it  were  trammeled  in  the 
exercise  of  his  ministerial  functions,  and  that  this 
request  of  the  Annual  Conference  might  in  its  ten- 
dency prove  to  be  a  snare  to  entrap  him.  Com- 
ment upon  the  unreasonableness  and  injustice  of 
such  a  requisition  is  unnecessary.  He  saw  proper, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  retire  from  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church,  and  take  charge  of  the  society 
of  those  who  had  seceded.  The  following  letter, 
addressed  to  the  preacher  in  charge,  defines  his 
position  with  great  clearness  and  force  as  a  Christian 
minister : 

Rev.  J.  F.  Wright  : 

Dear  Brother, — After  much  reflection,  many  tears 
and  many  prayers  to  Almighty  God  for  direction, 
I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  my  duty  to 
withdraw  from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
And  I  do  hereby  tender  to  you,  and  through  you  to 
bro.  G.  R.  Jones,  as  the  proper  organs,  a  resigna- 
tion of  my  membership  in  said  church,  and  shall 
from  this  date  consider  myself  no  longer  accounta- 
ble to  the  discipline  and  authorities  of  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  251 

It  was  not  my  design  or  wish  ever  to  dissolve 
my  connexion  with  a  church  for  whose  welfare 
I  have  felt  a  deep  interest,  and  have  labored  to 
the  best  of  my  ability  for  thirty  years;  but  I  ex- 
pected to  live  and  die  within  her  pale.  But 
the  vote  of  the  conference,  prohibiting  me  from 
preaching  to  the  seceded  brethren  in  this  city,  im- 
poses a  requisition  with  which  I  cannot  comply  as 
a  conscientious  man,  and  it  involves  a  principle  I 
cannot  admit.  I  never  can  subscribe  to  the  right  of 
any  man  or  body  of  men  authoritatively  to  say  to  any 
minister  called  of  God  to  preach  the  gospel  to  dying 
men,  you  must  not  preach  to  any  congregation  of 
immortal  souls  who  are  probationers  or  candidates 
for  eternal  happiness  or  woe.  I  must  be  at  liberty 
to  follow  the  dictates  of  my  own  conscience  in  ful- 
filling the  commission  given  to  me  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  church,  "Go  into  all  the  world  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature ;"  because  I 
know  I  must  give  an  account  to  Him  for  myself  in 
the  great  day.  I  believe  it  is  the  will  of  God  that 
I  should  preach  to  those  seceders  in  this  city,  but 
the  conference  forbids  it;  for  although  the  vote  was 
in  the  form  of  a  request,  yet  it  being  a  formal  vote 
of  the  conference,  and  made  a  matter  of  record  on 
the  journals,  it  amounts  to  an  official  prohibition; 
so  that  I  am  driven  to  the  necessity  of  withdraw- 
ing from  the  church,  or  violating  my  conscience. 
And  whether  it  be  right  to  obey  God  or  men,  judge 
ye.  In  this  matter  I  am  not  left  to  choose  as  in  a 
matter  of  judgment,  but  of  conscience.     Hence,  my 


252  HISTORY    OF    THE 

brethren  have  compelled  me  to  resign  my  standing 
in  the  church,  which  I  suppose  is  what  some  of  them 
designed  to  accomplish  :  and  it  may  be  pleasure  to 
them,  but  it  is  painful  to  me.  It  is  to  my  wounded 
soul  like  cutting  off  a  right  arm,  or  plucking  out  a 
right  eye. 

But  from  a  conviction  of  duty  I  must  do  it.  I 
do  not  take  this  step  from  any  hostile  feeling,  or 
from  the  dictates  of  any  unhallowed  passion ;  my 
feelings  are  of  a  very  different  nature.  No  one  cir- 
cumstance of  my  life  has  ever  caused  me  more 
heartfelt  grief  than  that  in  which  the  conference 
has  placed  me  by  the  above  act.  I  am  frequently 
led  involuntarily  to  exclaim,  why.  did  my  brethren 
do  so?  Surely  if  they  had  known  the  tortures  they 
were  about  to  inflict  on  my  already  lacerated  and 
bleeding  heart,  they  would  not  have  done  it.  Al- 
though the  church  has  had  many  much  more  able 
ministers,  a  truer  or  more  sincere  friend  she  never 
had  within  her  pale. 

I  have  been  in  that  church,  I  may  say,  from  child- 
hood, but  I  now  go  out  like   the  old    servant  of 
God,  not  knowing  whither  he  went.     But  1  lean  on 
the  divine  arm,   and  trust  the  Lord  will  lead  and 
support  me. 

Contrary  to  my  former  calculations  or  intentions, 
I  now  retire  from  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  (which  is  near  and  dear  to 
me,)  for  the  reason  already  stated,  that  the  com- 
mand of  the  conference  and  the  command  of  Jesus 
Christ  given  to  me,  stand  in  direct  opposition  to 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


253 


each  other.  Christ  says,  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature.  The  conference  says,  preach  not 
the  gospel  to  those  hundreds  of  souls  in  Cincinnati 
who  have  seceded  from  the  church.  So  that  I  can- 
not obey  one  without  violating  the  other.  And  if  I 
disobey  the  command  of  the  conference,  in  obey- 
ing the  command  of  Christ,  I  subject  myself  to 
trial,  suspension  and  expulsion,  which  I  have  reason 
to  believe  would  be  carried  into  execution  ;  and  I 
do  not  wish  any  further  affliction  of  this  kind.  And 
if  I  disobey-  the  command  of  Christ,  in  obeying  the 
command  of  the  conference,  I  shall  endanger  my 
eternal  salvation. 

Under  these  circumstances,  I  dare  not  confer 
with  flesh  and  blood;  I  must,  therefore,  stand  free 
to  obey  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  and  leave  the 
event  with  him.         Yours  in  deep  affliction,* 

T.  Bishop. 

The  General  Convention  of  reformers  which  met 
in  Baltimore  in  November,  1827,  appointed  a  cotn- 
mittee  for  the  purpose  of  calling  another  convention, 
to  meet  at  such  time  as  they  might  designate,  if  in 
their  opinion  the  general  interests  and  object  of  the 
Methodist  reformers  required  it.  That  committee 
met  in  Baltimore,  July,  1828,  and  taking  into  con- 
sideration the  action  of  the  late  General  Conference 

*  See  "  An  exposition  of  facts  connected  with  the  late  prosecu- 
tions  in   the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Cincinnati,"  &c, 
printed  in  1828;  a  copy  of  which  has  been  politely  furnished  the 
author  by  bro.  Conclin  of  that  city. 
22 


254  HISTORY    OF    THE 

upon  the  memorials  and  petitions  of  the  friends  of 
reform  ;  and  regarding  as  highly  exceptionable  the 
terms  proposed  for  the  return  of  those  who  had 
been  expelled  for  being  in  connection  with  Union 
Societies,  circulating  or  patronizing  the  "  Mutual 
Rights,"  &c,  determined  upon  calling  another 
convention. 

They  stated  in  their  address  that  "the  committee 
wish  it  to  be  understood,  however,  that  the}?  in  no 
case  advise  a  separation  from  the  church,  until  the 
sentiments  of  the  reformers  generally  can  be 
known,  through  their  respective  representatives  in 
the  contemplated  convention. 

"  In  conformity  to  the  trust  reposed  in  us  by  the 
convention,  for  the  reasons  above  stated,  we  hereby 
give  notice  that  another  general  convention  will 
be  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore,  in  St.  John's 
church,  Liberty  street,  to  begin  its  session  on  Wed- 
nesday, the  12th  day  of  November  next,  at  10 
o'clock,  A.  M." 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

General  Convention  of  1823. — Articles  of  Association  adopted  by 
the  Convention. — Adoption  of  the  Articles  of  Association  by  the 
Reformers  generally. — Persecution  of  Reformers  in  Virginia. — 
Progress  of  Reform  during  1829. — Letters  and  Reports  from  the 
agents  appointed  by  the  Convention. — Letters  from  Rev.  G. 
Brown. — Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev.  A.  McCaine. 

The  General  Convention  which  met  in  the  city 
of  Baltimore,  in  November,  182S,  was  composed 
of  delegates  from  the  States  of  Vermont,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  Delaware,  Virginia,  North 
Carolina,  Ohio,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  New  Jersey, 
and  the  District  of  Columbia. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Convention,  the 
Rev.  Nicholas  Snethen  was  elected  president,  and 
William  S.  Stockton  was  appointed  secretary. 

The  first  business  to  which  the  convention  pro- 
ceeded, was  to  take  up  and  consider  the  reply  of 
the  late  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  to  the  memorial  of  the  Convention  of 
Reformers  of  1S27.  A  committee  of  the  following 
brethren  were  appointed  to  prepare  an  answer  to 
that  celebrated  document,  viz:  Gideon  Davis,  D. 
C;  Dr.  Thomas  Dunn,  Philadelphia;  James  Tow- 
ler,  Ohio;  P.  B.  Hopper,  Maryland;  Dr.  John 
French,  Virginia. 

The  review  which  this  committee  reported  of  the 
reply  of  the  General  Conference  to  the  memorials, 


256 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


is  an  able  document,  which  clearly  refutes  the  ar- 
guments and  positions  taken  by  the  General  Con- 
ference, and  is  worthy  of  a  perusal  by  all  inquirers 
after  truth.  But  owing  to  its  length  we  are  con- 
strained to  omit  it  in  the  plan  of  this  work. 

A  committee  was  also  appointed  to  prepare  and 
report  to  the  convention,  a  system  of  rules  for  the 
government  of  those  reformers  who  might  be  dis- 
posed to  associate  together  in  an  independent  church 
organization.  The  committee  was  composed  of 
Rev.  S.  K.  Jennings,  Baltimore ;  Rev.  W.  H.  Co- 
mann,  Virginia;  Rev.  W.  B.  Elgin,  Tennessee; 
Rev.  Wm.  Young,  Ohio;  Rev.  N.  Snethen,  Mary- 
land; Mr.  William  L.  Stockton,  Philadelphia;  Mr. 
Wm.  C.  Lipscomb,  D.  C.;  Spier  Whitaker,  Esq., 
North  Carolina;  Mr.  John  Victor,  Lynchburg,  Va. 

On  Tuesday,  the  18th  November,  the  following 
preamble  and  resolution  were  offered  by  Mr.  G. 
Davis,  and  adopted  by  the  convention : 

"Whereas  certain  resolutions  were  passed  by 
the  last  General  Conference  with  a  professed  design 
to  restore  to  the  communion  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  certain  persons  who  had  been  ex- 
cluded from  said  communion,  on  account  of  their 
belonging  to  Union  Societies  and  for  patronizing  the 
Mutual  Rights;  and  whereas  certain  Methodist 
reformers  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  elsewhere, 
who  were  interdicted  said  communion,  and  for 
whose  restoration  said  resolutions  were  professedly 
adopted,  have  refused  to  accept  the  terms  therein 
contained:  therefore, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  257 

"Resolved,  That  this  convention  consider  the 
terms  of  said  resolutions  to  be  such  as  they  could 
not  accept  and  retain  an  honorable  and  Christian 
standing  among  their  brethren ;  and  that  they  ap- 
prove of  their  course  in  this  respect,  as  a  favorable 
illustration  of  their  adherence  to  just  principles, 
equally  honorable  to  themselves  and  the  cause  in 
which  they  have  suffered." 

The  committee  upon  organization  presented  their 
report,  which  was  taken  up,  read,  and  ordered  to 
be  printed  for  the  use  of  the  convention. 

After  various  substitutes  and  amendments  had 
been  acted  upon,  Mr.  John  Victor  offered  the  follow- 
ing resolution,  which  was  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  the  several  papers,  together 
with  the  printed  report  of  the  committee  on  organi- 
zation, be  referred  to  a  select  committee,  with  di- 
rections to  collate  the  same  and  report  thereon  as 
soon  as  practicable." 

The  following  were  appointed  said  committee: 
Rev.  J.  R.  Home,  Rev.  A.  McCaine,  Rev.  S.  K. 
Jennings,  Rev.  J.  R.  Williams  and  Mr.  G.  Davis, 
who  reported  through  their  chairman,  Rev.  J.  R. 
Home,  which  report  being  taken  up  and  acted  upon, 
article  by  article,  was  amended  and  finally  adopted 
in  the  following  form: 

PREAMBLE. 
Whereas   the  friends  of  a  fair  and  equal  repre- 
sentation in  the  government  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal  Church,    when  they   have   insisted    on  the 
22* 


258  HISTORY    OF    THE 

necessity  of  a  modification  in  the  polity  of  the 
church,  which  should  recognize  this  fundamental 
principle,  the  only  safeguard  to  the  liberties  of  the 
people,  and  when  they  have  submitted  respectful 
petitions  and  memorials  to  the  General  Conference, 
praying  for  the  admission  of  the  principle,  have 
been  met  in 'the  manner  which  has  encouraged  and 
prepared  the  friends  of  absolute  power  to  request 
and  urge  them  to  withdraw  from  the  fellowship  of 
the  church,  and  to  threaten  them  with  excommuni- 
cation if  they  should  refuse  to  comply: 

And  whereas  many  of  our  highly  esteemed  and 
useful  members  in  the  church,  by  an  unjustifiable 
violence,  have,  been  excluded  from  the  fellowship  of 
their  brethren,  and  have  been  thereby  compelled 
for  the  time  being  to  form  themselves  into  religious 
fraternities  for  the  purposes  of  Christian  fellowship : 

And  whereas  all  the  Methodists  of  the  United 
States,  and  perhaps  of  the  world,  have  been  united 
together  in  their  visible  fellowship  under  the  general 
rules  of  Mr.  Wesley,  which  express  the  only  condi- 
tion and  legitimate  test  of  membership: 

And  whereas,  in  violation  of  good  faith  and 
brotherly  love  by  an  exercise  of  power  not  author- 
ized by  the  word  of  God,  other  tests  have  been  set 
up  for  the  support  of  that  violence,  by  which  many 
valuable  brethren  have  been  unlawfully  excluded 
as  aforesaid  : 

And  whereas  these  measures  have  been  so  con- 
ducted, that  we  are  justified  in  believing  it  to  have 
been  the  intention  of  the  General  Conference  and 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  259 

the  anti-reformers  under  their  influence,  to  punish 
all  the  avowed  friends  of  representation  and  intimi- 
date any  who  may  feel  inclined,  to  favor  that 
principle : 

And  whereas  the  late  decisions  of  the  Baltimore 
and  Ohio  Annual  Conferences,  as  also  the  ultimate 
proceedings  and  report  of  the  General  Conference 
in  relation  to  this  subject,  have  placed  every  friend 
of  representation  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  such  a  situation  that  their  opponents  have  it  com- 
pletely in  their  power  to  compel  them  to  renounce 
their  principles,  or  be  excluded  from  the  fellowship 
of  their  brethren: 

And  whereas  the  ministers  favorable  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  representation,  in  sundry  places,  are  no 
longer  admitted  to  ordination  or  to  occupy  the  pul- 
pits of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  to  the  great 
grievance  of  many : 

And  whereas  the  opposers  of  representation 
apear  to  show  no  concern  for  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  those  whom  they  have  excluded  as  aforesaid,  or 
of  those  who,  on  account  of  such  exclusions,  have 
considered  themselves  called  on  to  withdraw  out  of 
the  reach  of  their  violent  measures,  but  hold  them 
up  to  public  view  as  evil-minded  persons,  and  pro- 
phesy evil  things  concerning  them,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  those  who  have  the  best  means  of 
knowing  the  injured  brethren  have  unabated  confi- 
dence in  their  moral  and  religious  integrity,  and  in 
common  with  all  the  admirers  of  steady  adherents  to 
principle,    do   actually  applaud   their   firmness   in 


260  HISTORY    OF   THE 

holding  fast  the  principle  of  representation,  although 
by  so  doing  they  have  been  subjected  to  such  heavy 
pains  and  penalties: 

And  whereas  the  report  of  the  General  Confer- 
ence above  referred  to,  not  only  has  sanctioned 
their  unjust  proceedings,  but  in  effect  asserted  a 
divine  right  to  continue  to  legislate  and  administer 
the  government  of  the  church  in  this  oppressive 
manner : 

Therefore,  we,  the  delegates  ot  the  friends  of  a 

REPRESENTATIVE     FORM     OF      GOVERNMENT     in      the 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  elected  and  appointed 
by  them  to  meet  in  convention  in  the  city  of  Balti- 
more, in  November,  1828,  with  a  due  regard  to  the 
fundamental  principles  of  civil  and  religious  liberty 
as  recognized  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  several  States  of  the  Union,  in  com- 
mon with  other  Protestant  churches,  do  in  behalf  of 
ourselves,  our  constituents  and  our  posterity,  in  the 
fear  of  God,  solemnly  protest  against  the  right 
of  the  General  Conference  to  assume  such  power, 
or  to  institute  or  sustain  any  such  violent  proceed- 
ings to  which  it  necessarily  leads.  And  we  do 
hereby  acknowledge  and  sustain  the  right  of  those 
brethren  who  have  been  excluded,  and  of  those  who 
have  on  their  account  withdrawn  as  aforesaid,  to 
unite  and  form  themselves  into  communities;  and 
we  do  this  the  more  willingly,  because  in  so  doing 
they  will  now  of  necessity  meet  the  demand  which 
has  been  so  often  made  by  their  opponents,  to  ex- 
hibit a  plan  explanatory  of  the  changes  which  they 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  261 

desire,  and  what  they  intend  to  avoid  until  driven  to 
it  by  necessity,  to  demonstrate  by  its  practical  ope- 
rations the  expediency  of  a  representative  Method- 
ist Church  government;  and  do  therefore  adopt 
the  following  articles  of  association  for  the  govern- 
ment of  such  societies  as  shall  agree  thereto,  under 
the  appellation  of  Associated  Methodist  Churches. 

ARTICLES    OF    ASSOCIATION. 

Article  I.  The  articles  of  religion,  general  rules, 
means  of  grace,  moral  discipline,  rites  and  cere- 
monies of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  are 
hereby  declared  to  be  the  rules  of  faith  and  practice 
for  those  societies  which  may  unite  in  this  associa- 
tion; and  the  mode  of  administering  the  same  is 
hereby  adopted,  except  when  contravened  by  some 
other  article. 

Art.  II.  Each  society  or  church  shall  have  the 
sole  power  to  admit  serious  persons  into  full  mem- 
bership, and  to  regulate  its  own  temporal  concerns 
in  accordance  with  these  articles.  The  stewards 
to  be  elected  by  the  male  members  over  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  and  the  leaders  by  the  respective 
classes. 

Art.  III.  The  right  of  property  is  declared  to  be 
vested  in  the  respective  societies  or  churches,  who 
shall  elect  trustees  for  the  purpose  of  holding  the 
same  for  their  benefit. 

Art.  IV.  The  trial  of  members  shall  be  conduct- 
ed according  to  the  seventh  section  of  the  second 
chapter  of  the  Discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 


262  HISTORY    OF    THE 

pal  Church  ;  provided,  however,  that  nothing  there- 
in contained  shall  be  so  construed  as  to  deprive  an 
accused  member  of  the  right  to  challenge;  and 
provided,  further,  that  the  accused  shall  have  a 
right  to  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the  committee 
to  the  next  Quarterly  Conference ;  and  no  member 
of  that  Conference  who  shall  have  sat  on  any  case 
as  a  committee-man,  shall  be  permitted  to  vote  on 
the  appeal. 

Art.  V.  There  shall  be  a  Quarterly  Conference 
in  each  station  and  circuit,  composed  of  all  the 
ordained  and  licensed  preachers  and  exhorters 
belonging  thereto,  and  of  all  the  stewards  and 
leaders.  The  preacher  in  charge  shall  be  the  presi- 
dent of  the  conference.  The  conference  shall  elect 
its  own  secretary.  The  business  of  the  Quarterly 
Conference  shall  be,  first,  to  inquire  into  the  official 
and  religious  character  of  its  members ;  secondly, 
to  license  exhorters  and  suitable  persons  to  preach 
the  gospel,  and  to  recommend  to  the  Annual  Con- 
ference preachers  for  ordination  or  to  travel.  They 
shall  also  hear  and  decide  upon  appeals  from 
committees. 

Art.  VI.  There  shall  be  in  each  State,  as  soon 
as  may  be,  one,  or  not  exceeding  two,  Annual  Con- 
ferences, to  be  composed  of  all  the  ordained  minis- 
ters and  an  equal  number  of  lay  delegates.  But 
until  such  time,  conferences  may  be  formed  when 
it  shall  be  most  convenient.  The  lay  delegates  to 
the  Annual  Conferences  shall  be  chosen  by  the 
licensed  preachers  and  lay  male  members  over  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


263 


age  of  twenty-one  years,  at  the  Quarterly  Meetings 
next  preceding  the  sitting  of  the  Annual  Con- 
ferences. 

Art.  VII.  Each  Annual  Conference  shall  elect  a 
president  and  secretary. 

Art.  VIII.  Each  Annual  Conference  shall  pro- 
vide the  mode  of  stationing  its  own  preachers. 

Art.  IX.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  presidents 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  to  travel  through  their 
respective  bounds,  to  fill  vacancies,  and  to  make 
such  changes  in  the  circuits  or  stations  as  may  be 
deemed  absolutely  necessary.  The  president  shall 
have  the  right  of  the  pulpit  in  whatever  place  he 
may  be,  but  shall  not  supersede  the  prerogatives  of 
the  minister  in  charge. 

Art.  X.  Each  Annual  Conference  shall  have 
power  to  make  such  rules  and  regulations  for  its 
own  government,  and  the  Government  of  the  stations 
and  circuits  within  its  bounds,  as  may  be  necessary 
for  the  promotion  of  the  spiritual  interests  of  the 
community;  provided,  nevertheless,  that  no  rule 
shall  be  binding  on  the  preachers  or  people,  which 
shall  contravene  the  provisions  of  these  articles. 

Art.  XI.  Each  Annual  Conference  shall  have 
power  to  receive  into  the  itinerancy  and  to  ordain 
such  preachers  as  may  be  recommended  to  that 
body  by  the  Quarterly  Conference.  The  president, 
assisted  by  two  or  more  elders,  shall  perform  the 
ordination. 

Art.  XII.  The  Annual  Conferences  shall  fix  the 
times  and  places  of  their  sittings. 


264  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Art.  XIII.  Every  person  whose  name  is  entered 
on  the  list  of  traveling  preachers,  shall  be  subject 
to  the  appointment  of  the  conference  and  receive 
the  same  allowance  as  is  provided  in  the  Discipline 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

Art.  XIV.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  preacher 
in  charge  of  any  station  or  circuit,  as  soon  as  prac- 
ticable after  his  arrival  in  his  circuit  or  station,  to 
assemble  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference,  that 
he  may  obtain  the  necessary  information  for  the 
proper  understanding  of  the  condition  of  the  circuit 
or  station,  and  for  enlisting  all  the  helps  within  its 
limits,  for  carrying  on  the  great  work  of  the  Lord. 

Art.  XV.  Nothing  contained  in  these  articles  is 
to  be  so  construed  as  to  interfere  with  the  right  of 
property  belonging  to  any  member  of  this  associa- 
tion, as  recognized  by  the  laws  of  the  State  within 
the  limits  of  which  the  member  may  reside. 

Art.  XVI.  There  shall  be  a  General  Convention, 
to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  on  the  first 
Tuesday  in  November,  1S30,  to  be  composed  of  an 
equal  number  of  ministers  and  lay  representatives 
chosen  by  the  Annual  Conferences  respectively. 

Art.  XVII.  Supernumerary  and  superannuated 
ministers  shall  be  entitled  to  the  same  amount  of 
support  which  is  allowed  to  those  more  effective. 
And  if  any  circuit  or  station  should  be  willing  to 
support  any  one  or  more  of  such  supernumerary  or 
superannuated  ministers  for  any  indefinite  number 
of  years,  the  privilege  shall  be  granted  them. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  265 

The  convention,  in  order  to  carry  out  its  objects 
more  effectually,  passed  several  resolutions,  among 
which  are  the  following: 

"Resolved,  That  agents  be  appointed  with  full 
powers  to  travel  through  the  different  States,  and 
assist  in  carrying  into  effect  the  articles  adopted  by 
this  convention,  and  employ  such  other  persons  to 
aid  them  as  they  may  deem  proper. 

"Resolved,  That  a  committee  of  five  be  appoint- 
ed to  prepare  a  Constitution,  a  Book  of  Discipline, 
and  a  Hymn  Book,  to  be  submitted  to  the  conven- 
tion to  be  held  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  November, 
1830,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  In  order  to  carry 
out  the  provisions  of  this  resolution,  the  following 
brethren  were  appointed  to  constitute  the  committee, 
viz:  Rev.  James  R.  Williams,  Rev.  A.  McCaine, 
Rev.  S.  K.  Jennings,  Mr.  Gideon  Davis  and  Mr. 
John  J.  Harrod. 

"  Resolved,  that  it  is  the  opinion  of  the  conven- 
tion that  elders  and  deacons  who  have  been  or  may 
be  deprived  of  their  offices  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church,  on  account  of  reform,  sustain  the 
same  characters  and  offices  in  the  Associated  Meth- 
odist Churches  as  they  did  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church." 

The  convention  also  adopted  a  form  of  deed  to 
secure  to  the  use  of  individual  societies  the  church 
property  intended  for  the  use  of  the  Associated 
Methodist  Churches. 

It  was  just  cause  of  gratulation  to  the  friends  of 
mutual  rights  that  the  convention  were  enabled  to 
23 


266  HISTORY    OF    THE 

adopt  these  articles  of  association,  as  the  expelled 
and  the  withdrawn  from  the  M.  E.  Church  could 
unite  under  them  in  church  union  and  fellowship; 
and  as  they  pointed  forward  to  better  things  to 
come,  they  were  hailed  and  received  as  the  harbin- 
ger of  prosperity.  These  articles  of  association 
were  adopted  with  great  unanimity  by  the  friends 
of  reform  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
land. 

The  powers  that  he  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  now,  for  the  first  time,  began  to  see  that 
"  the  ashes  of  the  martyrs  are  the  seed  of  the 
church,"  and  that  the  unjust  persecutions  which 
they  had  waged  against  the  friends  of  reform  were 
building  up  a  new  and  distinct  ecclesiastical  organ- 
ization, professing  the  same  doctrines  and  observing 
the  same  means  of  grace  with  themselves.  The  hand 
of  persecution,  which  had  been  busy,  was  not  stayed. 
The  epithets  of  "backsliders,"  "apostates,"  "ma- 
licious persons,"  "  radicals,"  and  "  disorganizes," 
were  generally  applied  to  the  advocates  of  reform, 
and  frequently  too  by  those  who  professed  to  be  the 
"  divinely  authorized  expounders  of  gospel  doc- 
trines and  moral  discipline."  Many  of  them  seemed 
to  be  fully  persuaded  that  the  reformers  were 
amongst  the  most  wicked  and  impenitent  through- 
out the  land.  To  sustain  this  assertion,  we  shall 
relate  an  anecdote  that  came  under  our  own  obser- 
vation. During  the  excitement  upon  the  subject 
of  reform  in  Carolina,  the  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  held  a  camp-meeting  in  a  part 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


267 


of  the  country  where  the  principles  of  mutual  rights 
were  taking  root.  One  of  the  divinely  authorized 
(no  doubt  thinking  he  was  doing  God  service)  took 
it  into  his  head  during  his  sermon  at  this  meeting 
to  hold  up  to  his  audience  the  characters  of  the 
reformers  in  a  most  appalling  light,  and  closed  his 
phillipic  In  the  following  remarkable  words  :  "  For 
we  do  believe  that  if  these  reformers  do  not  reform,  they 
will  never  see  the  face  of  their  God  in 'peace.'1'' 

The  very  favorable  reception  which  the  con- 
ventional articles  of  association  met  aroused  to 
action  the  spirit  of  proscription  in  quarters  where  it 
had  heretofore  lain  dormant.  Soon  after  the  rise 
of  the  convention  the  spirit  of  persecution  began  to 
rage  violently  in  Virginia,  in  Northumberland  county, 
and  in  Lynchburg,  in  that  State,  in  Georgetown, 
D.  C.,  in  North  Carolina,  and  in  other  parts  of  the 
Union. 

We  will  here  copy  an  article  from  the  columns 
of  the  "Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer," 
of  February  20lb,  1S29,  showing  the  manner  in 
which  the  Rev.  Benedict  Burgess  and  others  were 
disposed  of  by  the  authorities  of  the  M.  E.  Church: 

"Brother  Dorsey, — I  am  not  fond  of  writing, 
but  on  the  present  occasion  it  becomes  my  duty  to 
give  you,  as  far  as  I  am  able,  an  account  of  pro- 
ceedings against  reformers  in  this  county.  In  doing 
this  I  am  determined  to  extenuate  nothing,  nor  to 
set  down  aught  in  malice ;  if  I  err,  it  shall  not  be 
intentional ;  and  correction  of  an  error  will  be 
acknowledged  by  me  with  cheerfulness. 


26S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  We  live  in  Northumberland  county,  State  of 
Virginia,  which  forms  a  part  of  what  is  called  Lan- 
caster Circuit,  in  which  we  were  members  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  This  circuit  I  trav- 
eled in  the  years  1809  and  1810.  From  that  time 
I  have  remained  here  in  a  local  relation  to  said 
church,  doing  my  best  to  promote  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom. 

"  Soon  after  my  return  from  the  convention  held 
in  Baltimore,  in  November  last,  I  received  a  letter 
from  the  Rev.  Samuel  Clarke,  preacher  in  charge 
of  Lancaster  Circuit,  addressed  to  Benedict  Bur- 
gess, Thomas  Berry,  John  Lansdell,  and  others, 
requesting  information,  in  the  following  words : 
'  Do  you,  or  do  you  not,  consider  yourselves  mem- 
bers of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  hold 
yourselves  amenable  to  its  laws  ?  or  do  you  con- 
sider yourselves  members  of  another  society  ?  I 
wish  you  to  give  me  a  definite  answer  to  these 
lines.'  For  myself,  I  could  have  sent  him  an  an- 
swer, (but  not  for  others,)  that  I  did  consider  my- 
self a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
The  ensuing  Sabbath  I  preached  at  Fairfield's 
meeting-house,  and  informed  the  congregation  I 
thought  that  the  last  time  I  should  address  them  as 
a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  con- 
cluding in  my  own  mind  that  the  letter  was  sent 
preparatory  to  a  trial.  After  the  congregation  was 
dismissed,  and  the  society  retained,  I  rose  and 
observed  that  I  had  received  the  above  letter,  and 
not  knowing  the  minds  of  all  to  whom  it  was  ad- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  269 

dressed,  I  thought  it  my  duty  to  read  it  to  them. 
After  reading  the  letter,  I  told  them  the  course  I 
meant  to  pursue,  and  asked  their  concurrence,  to 
which  all  appeared  to  agree.  The  press  of  busi- 
ness prevented  me  from  accomplishing  my  purpose 
of  seeing  brother  Clarke  the  next  week;  and  on  the 
Sunday  following,  which  was  the  21st  of  December 
last,  I  went  to  meeting  and  found  him  in  the  pulpit. 
He  preached  from  Genesis  xiii,  S  and  9  :  '  And 
Abraham  said  unto  Lot,  let  there  be  no  strife,  I 
pray  thee,  between  me  and  thee,  and  between  my 
herdmen  and  thy  herdmen,  for  we  be  brethren.  Is 
not  the  whole  land  before  thee  ?  Separate  thyself, 
I  pray  thee,  from  me ;  if  thou  wilt  take  to  the  left 
hand,  then  I  will  take  to  the  right ;  or  if  thou  wilt 
take  to  the  right  hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  left.' 
I  thought  I  saw  a  great  discrepance  between  the 
spirit  of  Abraham  and  our  preacher.  This  might 
have  been  owing  to  the  excitement  under  which  he 
labored.  The  fatal  consequences  of  Lot's  choice 
were  largely  descanted  upon.  After  sermon  the 
Rev.  T.  C.  Thornton  detained  the  people  by  a 
short  exhortation,  while,  as  I  suppose,  preparations 
were  making.  After  he  sat  down  brother  Clarke 
again  resumed  the  stand,  and,  as  nearly  as  I  can 
now  recollect,  addressed  the  congregation  in  the 
following  words :  '  I  am  for  peace ;  I  serve  the 
God  of  peace.  It  is  well  known  that  there  is  and 
has  been  strife  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
not  on  doctrines,  but  on  church  government.  There 
has  lately  been  a  convention  in  Baltimore,  and 
23* 


270  HISTORY    OP    THE 

those  who  went  and  those  who  sent  delegates  to 
that  convention  have  joined  another  church  by  that 
act.  Therefore  the  following  names  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  having  withdrawn  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.'  Eight  or  ten  names  were  then 
read  out.  I  arose  to  address  the  congregation 
from  the  altar,  when  the  people  were  dismissed 
and  requested  to  withdraw,  in  order  to  hold  a  class- 
meeting.  After  the  doors  were  closed,  I  requested 
of  brother  Clarke  liberty  to  speak,  and  had  it 
granted  if  I  would  not  be  long.  I  told  the  society 
I  protested  against  the  course  that  had  been  pur- 
sued ;  that  my  going  to  the  convention  was  for  the 
purpose  of  consolidating  those  brethren  who  had 
been  expelled,  and  to  provide  an  asylum  for  my- 
self and  others  who  might  be  expelled  for  maintain- 
ing the  principle  of  righteousness  in  representation  ; 
that  I  rejoiced  in  having  had  the  privilege  of  attend- 
ing the  convention,  and  thought  it  one  of  the  best 
acts  of  my  life. 

"  After  considerable  altercation,  I  told  brother 
Clarke  that  it  was  probable  he  had  not  read  out 
enough,  and  he  had  better  ask  if  there  were  any 
more.  He  did  so,  and  a  number  more  arose  and 
observed  they  were  equally  guilty  (if  there  was  any 
guilt  in  the  act)  with  myself  and  those  other  breth- 
ren who  had  been  read  out.  In  the  confusion  that 
ensued,  there  was  no  appointment  made  for  Christ- 
mas day,  and  of  course  there  could  have  been  no 
general  notice  given.  As  far  as  it  could  be  done, 
there  was  notice  that  on  that  day  I  would  preach, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  271 

and  proceed  to  form  an  Associated  Methodist 
Church  at  Fairfield's.  Although  the  eight  or  ten 
names  which  were  read  out  were  in  various  parts 
of  the  circuit,  and  the  Rev.  T.  C.  Thornton  attended 
our  meeting  on  Christmas,  and  used  his  best  efforts 
to  prevent,  as  I  thought,  our  organization,  (this  he 
denied  as  being  his  object,)  there  were  enough 
united  themselves  under  the  conventional  articles 
to  prove  that  all  were  not  read  out  who  believed 
the  government  of  Episcopal  Methodism  and  des- 
potism to  be  the  same  thing.  We  set  down  twenty- 
one  names ;  elected  brother  Thomas  Berry  our 
class-leader,  and  John  Lansdell  our  steward  ;  ap- 
pointed two  prayer-meetings  in  the  week,  and  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer.  Since  then  we  have 
been  on  the  increase,  and  the  blessing  of  God  ap- 
pears to  attend  our  efforts  to  promote  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom.  Last  Saturday  was  Quarterly  Meeting 
day  for  the  circuit ;  and  the  Quarterly  Conference, 
purged  and  purified  as  it  was,  sanctioned  all  that 
had  been  done,  and  directed  their  proceedings  to 
be  published. 

"  I  am  now  acting  under  the  conventional  arti- 
cles, and  shall  do  my  best,  as  soon  as  I  can,  to 
enlarge  the  work  and  spread  the  principles.  We 
are  in  want  of  a  man  of  experience  and  heart- 
felt religion  to  take  charge  of  the  executive 
department  of  the  churches  that  are  springing  up 
in  this  section. 

"  Yours,  in  the  bonds  of  mutual  rights, 

"B.  Burgess." 


272  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  organization  of  the  friends  of  reform  into 
churches  and  societies  under  the  conventional  arti- 
cles, marks  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  reform.  Up  to 
this  period  there  was  no  point  to  which  the  expelled 
and  proscrihed  could  look  for  relief  upon  being  cast 
out  from  the  pales  of  the  M.  E.  Church ;  but  a 
brighter  day  had  now  dawned,  and  associated 
Methodist  Churches  were  being  organized  through- 
out the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land.  The  gales 
of  prosperity  wafted  onward  the  cause,  and  success 
attended  the  efforts  of  those  ministers  who  labored 
to  propagate  the  doctrines  of  mutual  rights.  The 
agents  appointed  by  the  convention  under  its  first 
resolution,  "  to  travel  through  the  different  states," 
were  of  eminent  service  to  the  cause  in  organizing 
and  building  up  churches,  although  they  were 
invariably  opposed  in  their  operations  by  the  sup- 
porters of  clerical  domination. 

Their  reports  are  highly  interesting.  We  sub- 
join a  few  extracts  from  the  "Mutual  Rights  and 
Christian  Intelligencer." 

From  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  French,  one  of  the  agents  for 
Virginia. 

Norfolk,  January  30,  1829. 
Dear  Brother, — Societies  have  been  formed 
under  the  conventional  articles  at  the  following 
places  on  this  part  of  the  seaboard  of  the  state, 
viz :  Princess  Anne  court  house,  (this  society  was 
formed  30th  Nov.;)  Cowlings'  meeting  house,  Nan- 
semond   county;   Smithfield  and  Bethel,   Isle   of 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


273 


Wight  county;  Hampton  and  Fox  Hill,  Elizabeth 
city  county;  and  Old  Point.  Yesterday  I  received 
a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Miles  Kino;,  of  Mathews 
county,  in  which  he  stated  that  he  had  formed 
a  society  there. 

I  have  several  appointments  out,  commencing  at 
Suffolk  to-morrow  evening,  at  all  of  which  I  expect 
to  form  societies.  I  have  not  learned  what  is  doing 
in  other  parts  of  the  state.  We  shall' get  on  but 
slowly  during  the  winter.  But  by  the  blessing  of  a 
good  Providence  I  hope  we  shall  move  on  rapidly 
when  the  spring  opens  upon  us.  The  prospect 
exceeds  my  expectation.  Faithful  preaching  and 
holy  living,  with  the  due  enforcement  of  the  moral 
discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  which 
is  recognized  by  our  first  conventional  article,  will 
bear  down  every  thing  before  us.  My  method  is, 
to  insist  on  every  person  examining  the  matter  in 
dispute,  so  as  to  understand  it,  and  then  follow  the 
honest  convictions  of  his  own  mind  ;  and  that,  which 
ever  side  he  may  take,  he  is  bound  to  cultivate  kind 
feelings  toward  those  who  differ  from  him  in  opinion. 
I  insist  upon  the  possibility  and  necessity  of  our 
living  in  peace  and  brotherly  love,  whilst  we  differ 
in  opinion.  How  much  of  the  religion  of  Christ 
can  dwell  in  any  other  bosom  than  that  which  en- 
tertains this  holy  principle?  But  alas!  our  oppos- 
ing brethren,  blinded  by  passion  as  it  would  seem, 
appear  determined  to  give  no  quarters.  But  "let 
us  know  our  calling  better"  than  to  "return  railing 
for  railing."     Our  holy  religion  imperiously  requires 


274  HISTORY    OF    THE 

that  we  should  be  loving  and  kind  to  all  men. 
Jesus  Christ  has  set  us  this  example,  nor  are  we  at 
liberty  to  depart  from  it.  If  we  do,  we  shall  be  in 
danger  of  eternal  fire.  For  the  want  of  a  house, 
nothing  has  been  done  in  this  place.  ]n  the  spring 
we  expect  to  commence  building  one.  We  have, 
however,  procured  a  large  room,  and  on  Wednes- 
day, the  ISth  Feb.,  we  intend  to  have  a  meeting 
and  form  a  society.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  return 
home  by  that  time. 

I  think  we  shall  do  pretty  well  here.  Since  I 
have  been  free  I  have  tasted  the  sweets  of  liberty; 
and  really  it  surpasses  my  expectation.  It  is  a 
blessing  indeed.  The  fraternal  feeling,  oh  how 
delightful  it  is!  No  lord,  no  master,  save  one. 
All  we  are  brethren.  "  Let  brotherly  love  continue." 
Yours  in  Christ,  John  French. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Hill,  one  of 
the  agents  for  North  Carolina,  dated  Warrenton, 
Feb.  2d,  1S29. 

Brother  Dorsey, — At  some  future  period  I 
expect  to  give  you  some  concise  account  of  things 
respecting  reform  in  Carolina.  I  am  now  on  a  tour 
of  some  extent,  and  am  pleased  with  our  prospects. 
In  some  places  our  cause  is  triumphant,  though  in 
its  infancy.  All  I  think  necessary  for  our  speedy 
triumph  throughout  the  state,  is  a  regular  plan  of 
operation  and  a  few  efficient  itinerant  ministers,  to 
act  in  union  with  our  local  materials.  Our  cause 
is  dear  to  every  patriot,  statesman,  and,  I  may  add, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


275 


enlightened  Christian,  who  thoroughly  understands 
it.     But  it  must  have  effective  support. 

Dr.  Home  has  been  arrested,  but  has  vanquished 
his  assailants.  You  will  soon  hear  from  him  1 
presume. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  Eli  Henkle,  one  of 
the  agents  for  Maryland. 

Dear  Brother, — I  commenced  the  duties  as- 
signed me  by  the  late  convention,  on  the  Sabbath 
after  I  reached  home,  and  organized  the  first  class 
at  Providence  meeting  house,  on  the  same  day. 

The  first  person  who  came  forward  was  our  old 
friend,  the  Rev.  Aquila  Garretson,  once  a  traveling 
preacher,  but  who  has  been  ]ocal  for  many  years  past. 
In  a  few  days  after  this  event,  I  was  informed  by 
the  preacher  in  charge  of  Baltimore  Circuit  that 
the  meeting  house  had  been  secured,  by  a  proper 
deed,  to  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  that 
he  did  not  know  whether  the  trustees  would  allow 
the  reformers  to  preach  in  it.  Our  friends  in  this 
neighborhood,  however,  appear  to  be  determined  to 
attend  to  this  matter,  without  troubling  the  mem- 
bers of  society.  With  all  the  menacing  which  we 
have  heard  from  the  authorities,  we  have  still  con- 
tinued to  use  the  house  withoat  interruption. 

The  second  class  in  Baltimore  Circuit  was  raised 
at  Sandy  Mount  meeting  house,  on  the  first  Sunday 
in  December.  The  members  of  the  old  church  in 
this  place  had  become  quite  numerous,  insomuch 
that  Mr.  S.  had  talked  of  dividing  them  into  two 


276  HISTORY    OF   THE 

classes.  This,  however,  they  saved  him  the  trou- 
ble of  doing,  by  dividing  themselves;  and  I  suppose 
not  altogether  to  his  liking,  for  his  class  is  as  much 
too  small  now  as  it  was  too  large  before.  This  is 
called  "  raining  the  society,"  although  everv  one 
has  been  left  entirely  free  to  decide  and  act  for  him- 
self. It  will  be  remembered  that  many  of  the  above 
members  were  the  fruits  of  the  reformers'  camp- 
meeting,  held  in  that  neighborhood  last  October;  to 
which  we  could  not  prevail  on  a  single  itinerant 
preacher  to  come.  We  next  organized  in  West- 
minster, in  Frederick  county ;  and  here  our  suc- 
cess was  fully  equal  to  my  previous  calculations. 
A  good  class  was  formed  the  first  day,  and  others 
have  joined  since.  We  anticipate  no  difficulties 
respecting  the  meeting  house  in  this  place,  as  it 
is  free;  and  the  citizens  are  almost  unanimously 
friendly  to  our  cause,  except  members  in  the  old 
church,  and  a  few  R****  C ******** — distant 
kindred. 

We  also  organized  in  Reisterstown,  Baltimore 
Circuit.  And  here  our  numbers  surpassed  my  ex- 
pectations. Several  of  the  oldest  professors  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  joined  the  new  class; 
and  they  also  are  permitted  to  worship  in  a  house 
which  belongs  to  the  people  of  the  village,  who  are 
generally  our  fast  friends.  In  consequence  of 
family  afflictions,  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  ex- 
plore Great  Falls  Circuit  to  any  extent.  However 
I  have  made  an  effort  to  organize  at  two  places; 
the  first  of  which  was  at  Cullison's  meeting  house, 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  277 

where  but  few  gave  in  their  names — others  intend 
to  join  hereafter.     The  next  place  was  at  Chesnut 
Ridge  meeting-house,  built  for  the  Methodist  society. 
The  whole   of  both  classes   at  this  place  made  a 
transfer  of  themselves  to  the  Associated  Methodist 
Churches.     There  are  many  other  places  in  readi- 
ness  for  us,    and   even   anxious  to   leave  the  old 
establishment.     I  understand  the  trustees  of  several 
meeting  houses   have   had   their  orders  from  the 
itinerants.     I  do  not  intend,  however,  to  allow  my- 
self to  be  frightened  by  shadows.     The  six  classes  * 
organized    in   this  part   of  the   country  consist  of 
about  160  or  170  members — nearly  all  out  of  the 
old  church.     Our  meetings  have  been  profitable. 

Last  week  I  returned   from   a  visit  to  Harford 
county,  where  I  organized  classes  at  the  following 
places,    viz:     the   Log   meeting-house,    Wesleyan 
church,  Waters'  meeting-house,  Abingdon,  Calvary 
meeting-house,  and  the  Union  chapel.     The  num- 
bers in  these  places  I  cannot  precisely  state,  but 
judge  that  the  classes  formed  will  average  twelve 
or  fifteen  members.      Many  others   are  ready   to 
unite  in  different  places  which  I  did  not  visit.     At 
the   Wesleyan   church  (a  large  new  brick  house) 
the  whole   society  united  with  us.     At  the  Union 
chapel  the  same  calculation  may  be  made.     The 
leading  members  have  led  the  way;  and,  although 
all  have  not  yet  followed  them,  we  see  a  very  fair 
prospect  of  their  doing  so,  as  the  preachers  of  the 
circuit  have  not  visited  that  appointment  since  the 
convention  in  November. 
24 


278  HISTORY    OF   THE 

Our  brethren  of  the  new  church  are  expecting 
and  preparing  for  a  preacher  or  two.  immediately 
after  the  conference,  and  will  contribute  liberally 
towards  their  support.  At  present  the  new  classes 
are  under  the  care  of  brothers  Richardson  and 
Webster,  who  have  agreed  on  a  time  when  they 
intend  to  visit  the  upper  part  of  Harford  Circuit. 

The  first  Quarterly  Meeting  in  Harford,  for  the 
new  church,  is  to  be  held  on  the  last  Saturday  and 
Sunday  in  March.  The  place  will  be  named  here- 
after. At  our  meetings  we  usually  had  comfortable 
seasons.  They  were  well  attended.  I  intended 
inserting  several  interesting  anecdotes,  but  feared 
I  would  be  too  tedious. 

The  first  church  was  formed  in  the  city  of  Phil- 
adelphia under  the  conventional  articles  of  asso- 
ciation, in  March,  1829,  as  the  following  extract  of 
a  letter  from  the  columns  of  the  Mutual  Rights  and 
Christian  Intelligencer  will  show: 

Philadelphia,  March  SO,  1829. 
Brother  Dorsey, — You  will  please  to  consider 
this  an  official  communication.  In  the  beginning 
of  the  present  month  the  association  of  reformers 
in  this  city  adjourned  sine  die.  A  tew  days  after,  a 
church  was  formed  and  the  conventional  articles 
adopted,  except  the  fifteenth,  which,  having  no 
application  in  this  part  of  the  country,  was  waived. 
Our  well  beloved  brother  Dr.  Thomas  Dunn  is  our 
chosen  pastor.     Our  first  meeting  for  public  worship 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  279 

was  held  on  the  22d  inst.,  at  which  time  so  evident 
were  the  enlightening,  suasiveand  melting  influences 
of  divine  grace  on  both  the  preacher  and  congre- 
gation, that  no  one  could  deny  the  presence  of  the 
divine  and  only  Head  of  the  church. 

Classes  have  been  formed,  prayer  meetings  held, 
and  on  the  2Sth  and  29th  inst.  a  Quarterly  Meeting 
was  holden.  In  all  our  meetings  the  Saviour  of 
our  Israel  has  vouchsafed  his  blessings,  and  more 
especially  in  our  love-feast  on  Sabbath  morning, 
when  we  had  peace  and  Christian  fellowship,  and 
were  all  of  one  mind  and  of  one  heart.  There  were 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  present.  We  have 
every  needed  assurance  that  our  duty  is  to  take 
courage  and  press  forward,  praising  the  Lord  con- 
tinually. The  Wesley  an  Society  of  Kensington  (a 
district  of  this  city)  adopted  the  conventional  arti- 
cles on  the  26th  inst.  That  society  consists  of  more 
than  two  hundred  members,  and  has  a  good  meet- 
ing house.  ttt  0  o 

°  W.  S.  Stockton,  ) 

T  n  >  Committee. 

Joseph  Uramerj  ) 

In  the  northern  and  north-western  States  the 
work  of  reform  prospered  greatly  during  the  year 
1829.  tt  Churches  and  societies  were  organized,  and 
circuits  were  formed  in  many  parts  of  the  country, 
although  the  clerical  itinerants  labored  hard  to  stifle 
inquiry  and  arrest  the  efforts  of  the  advocates  of 
mutual  rights.  In  some  places  some  of  the  best 
and  most  efficient  of  traveling  ministers  were 
understood  to  be  on  the  side  of  reform,  and  when 


280 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


the  conventional  articles  began  to  be  adopted  by 
the  people,  and  calls  were  made  for  ministers,  such 
preachers  promptly  responded  to  the  Macedonian 
call,  dissolved  their  connection  with  the  M.  E. 
Church,  and  enlisted  themselves  under  the  banners 
of  the  new  organization. 

We  shall  here  introduce  a  letter  from  the  Rev. 
George  Brown,  of  the  Pittsburg  Conference,  who 
had  long  been  known  as  a  decided  advocate  of 
reform,  to  the  presiding  elder  of  his  district. 

Pittsburg,  Pa.,  June  3,  1829. 

My  Dear  Brother  Eddy, — The  time  has  now 
arrived  for  me  to  follow  my  principles  as  a  reformer, 
or  abandon  them.  I  have  taken  time  and  written 
extensively  to  the  reformers,  and  particularly  to  the 
members  of  the  late  convention  in  Baltimore,  and 
am  now  satisfied  as  to  the  objectionable  articles. 
They  and  all  the  rest  were  well  meant,  and  for  the 
present  may  be  useful;  and  for  my  own  part  I  do  not 
entertain  a  single  doubt  that  the  convention  of  1S30 
will  construct  a  system  of  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment which  will  be  in  all  respects  perfectly  conge- 
nial with  republican  principles  and  feelings. 

My  feeble  services  have  been  called  for  in  four 
different  directions.  The  brethren  of  three  out  of 
four  desired  me  to  be  in  readiness  against  a  certain 
time,  but  the  fourth  was  a  call  that  would  admit  of 
no  delay.  Being  unablo  to  ascertain  where  a  com- 
munication would  find  you  on  your  district,  and 
being  much  pressed  with  other  business  about  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  2S1 

time  I  left  New  Lisbon,  I  have  delayed  until  now 
to  inform  you,  as  my  presiding  elder,  that  on  last 
Sabbath  my  labors  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  were  brought  to  a  final  close.  I  have  many 
valuable  friends  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
in  the  ministry  and  among  the  members.  I  now, 
as  heretofore,  testify  my  affection  for  the  doctrines, 
class  meetings,  love-feasts,  moral  discipline,  sacra- 
ments, and  itinerancy  of  the  church.  But  the 
government  I  do  most  conscientiously  disapprove ; 
and  since  all  hope  of  change  is  now  cut  off;  and 
since  the  brethren  who  were  expelled,  in  part  on 
my  account,  cannot  honorably  return;  and  since  a 
new  church  had  to  be  formed  ;  I  have  deemed 
myself  bound  by  all  the  principles  of  Christian 
honor  to  go  with  the  reformers.  You  will  not 
understand  me  to  have  one  unloving  sentiment  or 
feeling  about  my  soul  in  reference  to  you.  No,  my 
brother ;  nor  have  I  any  in  reference  to  a  single 
individual  this  day  on  earth.  I  love  my  God.  I 
love  his  people  of  every  name.  I  desire  the  happi- 
ness of  all  the  human  race.  I  go  with  the  reformers 
because  I  love  their  principles ;  and  my  prayer  to 
the  s;reat  and  glorious  Lord  of  the  whole  creation 
is  that  they  may  universally  prevail ! 

With  great  respect,  I  am,  &c. 

Geo.  Brown. 
Rev.  Ira  Eddy,  P.  E.  O.  District. 

The  reformers  in  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania,  had 
been  soliciting  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brown  to  come  to  that 
24* 


282  HISTORY    OF    THE 

city  and  take  charge  of  tbem  as  an  Associated 
Methodist  Church  ;  and  prior  to  the  date  of  the 
letter  addressed  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Eddy,  the  presid- 
ing elder,  he  had  adopted  the  resolution  of  yielding 
to  their  call,  and  casting  in  his  lot  among  them. 
His  letter  of  response,  to  the  committee  that  were 
appointed  to  correspond  with  him,  seems  to  breathe 
such  a  spirit,  and  teems  with  such  information,  that 
it  cannot  fail  to  interest.     We  subjoin  a  copy. 

New  Lisbon,  May  27,  1829. 

Dear  Brethren, — Your  second  communication 
has  been  received,  and  I  hasten  to  inform  you  that 
on  next  Sabbath  I  close  my  labors  for  ever  in  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  I  had  supposed  my- 
self already  done,  and  had  fixed  on  this  morning  to 
set  off  for  Pittsburg;  but  by  an  importunity  that  I 
could  not  resist,  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  brethren 
and  other  friendly  citizens,  I  have  been  overcome. 
I  love  this  people  ;  they  have  evinced  a  friendship 
for  me  and  mine,  during  my  residence  among  them, 
that  has  made  me  greatly  their  debtor;  and  besides, 
they  are  nearly  all  reformers,  so  far  as  they  under- 
stand the  subject ;  and  they  desire  me  to  state  my 
reasons  on  Sunday  for  leaving  the  old  establish- 
ment. This,  through  divine  help,  I  design  doing, 
in  the  close  of  my  second  sermon,  in  as  clear  and 
candid  a  manner  as  possible. 

There  is  another  consideration  of  some  moment. 
Mrs.  Brown's  health  is  still  very  feeble  ;  but,  thank 
God,  it  improves  a  little;  and  against  next  week  J 
can  in  all  probability  leave  home  with  more  pro- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  283 

priety  than  now.  I  shall  be  off  on  Monday  next, 
God  willing,  and  shall  probably  be  with  you  on 
Tuesday  night.  I  have  just  received  a  letter  from 
brother  Shinn,  inviting  me  to  Cincinnati  to  form  a 
circuit  round  that  city.  He  assures  me,  on  good 
authority,  that  a  good  circuit  could  be  formed  in  a 
very  little  time.  I  have  also  received  official  in- 
formation from  Ohio  Circuit,  stating  that  they  go  at 
the  end  of  this  conference  year,  and  will  take  no 
more  preachers  from  the  old  side.  They  have 
asked  me  to  come  over  and  help  them. 

I  have  just  received  another  private  communi- 
cation from circuit,  calling  for  help. 

The  "  divinely  authorized  "  have  forbidden  a  very 
respectable  local  preacher,  whom  no  threats  could 
terrify  into  silence,  the  occupancy  of  some  of  the 
pulpits  ;  and  the  brethren  think  this  is  as  proper  a 
time  as  any  to  be  off.  The  circuit  is  large,  say  one 
thousand  strong,  and  it  is  thought  a  majority  of  them 
are  reformers.  The  letter  stated  that  the  conven- 
tional articles,  though  somewhat  objectionable, 
would  be  adopted  for  the  present.  If  we  can  only 
get  a  constitution  formed  on  purely  republican 
principles,  under  the  blessing  of  our  glorious  Lord, 
we  shall  abundantly  succeed  with  a  liberty  loving 
2>enple.  I  think  the  day  may  yet  come  when  we, 
who  are  only  becoming  a  people,  shall  sit  under  our 
own  vine  and  fig  tree,  eating  the  pleasant  fruit 
of  ecclesiastical  liberty,  none  daring  to  make  us 
afraid.  Our  opposing  brethren,  from  the  bishops 
down,  have  done  all  they  could  to  crush  the  Mutual 


284  HISTORY    OP   THE 

Rights ;  but  surely  they  have  failed  of  success. 
Much  less  will  they  be  able  to  withstand  us  when 
our  preacners  go  in  person  preaching  the  same  gos- 
pel, carrying  with  them  the  same  moral  rules  of 
holy  living,  giving  the  people  an  itinerant  ministry, 
love-feasts,  class-meetings,  and  distributing  our  prin- 
ciples of  government  in  pamphlets  as  they  go. 
Ours  is  the  glorious  cause  of  ecclesiastical  emancipa- 
tion, and  has  no  enemies  in  America  save  on  the  old 
side  ;  and  I  greatly  miss  my  guess  if  the  very  means 
which  they  have  employed,  and  are  now  employing 
against  us  and  our  cause,  do  not  ultimately  help  in 
many  ways. 

Give  my  love  to  all  the  holy  brethren  of  the  like 
precious  faith  with  ourselves,  and  tell  them  that  I 
desire  an  interest  in  their  prayers.  I  am  a  frail 
child  of  the  dust.  I  tremble  much  at  the  vastness 
of  our  undertaking.  Our  only  help  is  in  the  strong 
God  of  Zion.  He  inhabits  eternity,  but  his  eye  is 
fixed  on  the  truth  and  him  who  loves  it,  however 
poor  he  may  be.  Him  I  love,  and  do  most  ardently 
long  for  that  perfect  liberty  from  sin  which  he  alone 
can  give ;  and  I  do  most  cordially  believe  that  we 
need  not  remain  in  ecclesiastical  bondage  in  order 
to  enjoy  this  "glorious  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God." 
Very  affectionately  yours,  &c. 

George  Brown. 

Mr.  W.  Stevenson,  } 
"     S.  Remington,    >  Committee. 
"     C.  Craig,  ) 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  2S5 

The  subject  of  reform,  during  1829,  extended  as 
far  north  as  Boston,  and  secessions  from  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  and  organizations  under 
the  conventional  articles  of  association,  took  place 
in  New  York  and  New  England.  Revivals  of  reli- 
gion attended  the  labors  of  the  ministry  of  the  newly 
organized  church  in  many  places.  The  "  Mutual 
Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer"  of  this  year 
says,  "  It  affords  no  small  gratification  and  comfort 
to  receive  such  assurances  of  the  divine  favor  and 
blessing  as  our  infant  Zion  is  realizing  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  After  a  long  and  fiery  trial, 
hundreds  who  have  endured  with  patience,  and 
stood  firm  to  their  purpose,  are  beginning  to  see  the 
fruit  of  their  labor.  Surely  if  heaven's  smiles  are 
to  be  received  as  evidence  that  a  people  is  right, 
this  people  is  right.  Would  the  Lord  own  and 
bless  the  labors  of  apostates  in  this  gracious  manner  ? 
The  work  is  spreading  in  Maryland,  New  York, 
New  Jersey,  Delaware,  Virginia,  Ohio,  Pennsylva- 
nia, and  several  other  places;  and  the  Lord  is  add- 
ing to  the  associated  churches  daily  such  as  give 
evidence  that  they  have  passed  from  death  unto 
life,  and  some  who  promise  great  usefulness  to  the 
church." 

The  labors  of  the  Rev.  Alexander  McCaine, 
traveling  agent  in  the  south,  were  of  eminent  service 
in  the  cause  of  reform.  His  letters  to  the  "  Mutual 
Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer"  are  highly 
interesting.  In  his  close  of  a  series  he  sums  up  in 
these  words : 


2S6  HISTORY   OF    THE 

"  And  as  this  is  the  last  of  the  series,  before  I 
close  it  I  will  be  allowed  to  sum  up  in  a  few  words 
an  account  of  ray  labors  in  the  cause  of  reform. 
It  was  nearly  nine  months  since  I  first  left  home 
until  my  return  at  Christmas.  In  that  time  1  trav- 
eled from  the  mountains  to  the  sea-board  in  Vir- 
ginia, crossed  North  Carolina  four  times,  and  was 
in  South  Carolina  twice.  Wherever  I  preached 
I  had  far  larger  congregations  than  I  used  to  have 
when  I  was  an  itinerant  preacher  in  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  I  felt,  blessed  be  God,  as  much 
of  the  comforts  of  religion  in  my  own  soul,  and  saw 
as  much  of  the  divine  presence  among  the  congre- 
gations, as  I  generally  did  in  former  years.  I  have 
received,  wherever  I  went,  far  more  respectful  at- 
tention than  I  ever  received  in  the  old  church.  I 
have  convened  with  the  high  and  the  low,  the  rich 
and  the  poor ;  and  have  conversed  with  all  ranks 
in  the  community,  from  the  governor  down  to  the 
day  laborer;  with  judges,  lawyers,  doctors,  legisla- 
tors, ministers,  magistrates,  merchants,  mechanics, 
farmers,  &c.  &c,  on  the  subject  of  reform,  and 
have  not,  in  all  my  travels,  or  among  all  those  with 
whom  I  have  conversed,  ever  found  one  man  who 
did  not  say  reformers  are  right,  and  that  their  cause 
must  finally  prevail.     Amen  and  amen. 

"  Alexander  McCaine." 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  287 


CHAPTER    IX. 

Organization  of  the  North  Carolina  Conference. — Adoption  of  the 
Constitution  and  Discipline. — Persecution  of  reformers  in  West- 
ern Carolina. — Expulsion  of  Rev.  Travis  Jones. — Organization 
of  Associated  Methodist  Churches  and  rapid  spread  of  reform 
principles  in  that  part  of  the  state. — Statistical  table  of  the  min- 
isters and  laymen  expelled  for  their  principles  of  reform  in  the 
United  States. — First  Virginia  Annual  Conference. — Pennsyl- 
vania, Alabama  and  Georgia  Conferences. — Adoption  of  the 
conventional  articles  by  a  body  of  Methodist  Societies  in  W. 
New  York  and  organization  of  the  Genesee  Conference. — 
Veimont  and  Tennessee  Conferences. — General  Convention  of 
1830. — Constitution  and  Discipline  adopted. 

The  Baltimore  convention  closed  its  session  on 
the  22d  November,  1S28.  The  proscribed  and 
expelled  reformers  in  North  Carolina  had  looked 
to  the  result  of  its  deliberations  with  anxious  solici- 
tude; scattered  and  peeled  as  they  had  been,  and 
proscribed  by  the  "  divinely  authorized"  they  had 
hoped  that  by  the  labors  of  the  convention  a  plat- 
form would  be  arranged  upon  which  they  could 
rally.     Their  hopes  were  not  disappointed. 

The  expelled  and  withdrawn  ministers  who  had 
suffered  prosecution  for  opinion's  sake,  concern- 
ing church  polity  alone,  met  together  in  Annual 
Conference  at  Whitaker's  chapel,  Halifax  county, 
on  the  19th  of  December  of  this  year. 

They  were  met  by  delegates  elected  and  deputed 
by  the  laity  to  represent  them  in  the  deliberations 
of  the  conference. 


2SS  HISTORY    OF    THE 

They  organized  by  the  election  of  Rev.  E.  B. 
Whitaker,  president  pro  tern.,  and  Rev.  Miles  Nash, 
Secretary. 

The  conference  was  composed  of  eight  ministers, 
five  licensed  preachers  and  twelve  lay  delegates. 
Seven  of  these  eight  ministers  present  had  been 
expelled  from  the  M.  E.  Church  without  any  charge 
of  immorality  being  exhibited  against  them.  The 
other  minister,  Rev.  W.  W.  Hill,  had  been  tried  by 
a  committee  on  account  of  his  principles  as  an  ad- 
vocate of  mutual  rights,  and  acquitted. 

Every  member  of  this  conference  had  belonged 
to  the  Roanoke  Union  Society  except  the  five 
licensed  preachers. 

The  ministers  that  composed  this,  the  first  North 
Carolina  Conference,  were  Rev.  James  Hunter, 
Rev.  E.  B.  Whitaker,  Rev.  William  Bellamy,  Rev. 
Henry  Bradford,  Rev.  Miles  Nash,  Rev.  William 
Price,  Rev.  William  W.  Hill,  and  Rev.  Abriton 
Jones. 

Owing  to  the  early  meeting  of  this  conference 
after  the  rise  of  the  Baltimore  convention,  and  the 
consequent  shortness  of  the  notice  given,  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Granville  Union  Society  were  not  able 
to  make  the  arrangements  to  attend,  or  elect  their 
delegates  to  represent  them  in  that  body. 

The  "preamble,  articles  of  association  and  reso- 
lutions, as  adopted  by  the  convention  at  Baltimore," 
were  taken  up  and  considered  by  this  conference, 
and  unanimously  adopted. 

The  conference  made  arrangements  to  bring  into 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  2S9 

the  most  effective  action  the  labors  of  its  ministers. 
Three  circuits  were  formed,  and  ministers  assigned 
to  the  superintendency  of  the  same.  The  Rev. 
W.  W.  Hill  was  appointed  an  agent  to  travel 
throughout  the  state. 

The  friends  of  reform  had  now  a  star  of  hope  to 
illumine  their  path.  The  articles  of  association 
were  embraced  by  them  as  a  bond  of  union,  and 
churches  and  societies  of  much  strength,  respecta- 
bility and  influence,  were  formed  in  the  eastern 
part  of  Carolina,  despite  the  efforts  of  the  votaries 
of  clerical  supremacy. 

The  second  session  of  the  North  Carolina  Confer- 
ence was  held  at  Sampson's  meeting  house,  on  the 
2d  of  April,  1S29.  At  the  opening  of  this  session, 
several  ministers  gave  in  their  names  and  were 
received  as  members  of  the  body  who  had  not  had 
an  opportunity  of  attending  the  first  session.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  at  this  conference  for  a 
more  extended  plan  of  operations.  A  fourth  circuit 
was  added  to  the  previous  number. 

But  the  hand  of  persecution  for  opinion's  sake 
had  not  yet  been  stayed.  A  short  time  prior  to  this 
period  the  Rev.  James  Hunt,  who  had  previously 
been  arraigned  for  belonging  to  the  Granville  Union 
Society,  was  again  summoned  to  trial,  and  expelled 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  upon  the 
charge  that  he  had  invited  one  of  the  ministers  who 
was  laboring  in  the  cause  of  reform,  to  preach  at 
one  of  his  appointments,  and  that  invitation  had 
been  accepted. 
—  -       55.^ 


290  HISTORY    OF    THE 

In  the  western  part  of  Carolina  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Merriwether,  superintendent  of  the  Guilford  Cir- 
cuit, began  to  distinguish  himself  by  his  zeal  in 
executing  the  reformers  upon  the  Guilford  Circuit. 
In  the  month  of  April  of  this  year,  1829,  after 
having  preached  at  Moriah  in  Guilford  county,  the 
congregation  beins;  dismissed,  he  took  one  of  the 
brethren,  Col.  William  Gilbreath,  aside,  and  upon 
inquiring  of  the  brother,  and  learning  that  he  was 
a  patron  and  reader  of  the  "Mutual  Rights  and 
Christian  Intelligencer,"  this  clerical  lord  over 
God's  heritage  in  a  most  dictatorial  manner  told 
brother  Gilbreath  that  he  "  must  neither  patronize 
nor  read  the  '  Mutual  Rights.' "  To  which  the 
brother  responded,  "  What  I  buy  and  pay  for  is  my 
own,  and  I  will  read  as  I  please"  But  the  reverend 
gentleman,  feeling  strong  no  doubt  in  his  "little 
brief  authority"  brought  his  arguments  to  a  close 
by  the  adoption  of  language  better  suited  to  the 
latitude  of  Rome  than  it  was  to  Carolina,  and  in  a 
most  consequential  manner  told  brother  Gilbreath, 
"I  will  give  you  four  weeks  to  consider  about  quilting 
the  '"Mutual  Rights,''  and  if  by  that  time  you  do  not 
discontinue  it,  I  will  have  you  excelled  from  the  church" 
The  reply  to  this  proffered  alternative  is  character- 
istic of  the  honest  simplicity  and  native  indepen- 
dence of  the  man ;  "  You  need  not  give  me  five  minutes, 
for  I  will  read,  and  also  circulate  it,  if  any  body  else 
wants  to  read  the  work." 

Brother  Gilbreath,  feeling  alarmed  for  the  rights 
of  himself  and  brethren  as  Christians,  gave  them 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  291 

due  notice  of  the  menacing  attitude  their  pastor 
had  assumed  towards  himself  and  them,  and  a  meet- 
ing of  the  church  was  called  in  order  to  consult 
upon  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued.  The  meet- 
ing took  place  on  the  7th  of  May,  just  two  weeks 
after  brother  Gilbreath  had  been  notified  to  discon- 
tinue the  "Mutual  Rights."  The  meeting  was  or- 
ganized by  calling  the  Rev.  John  Coe  to  the  chair, 
and  the  appointment  of  Joseph  Gilbreath  secretary. 
The  president  opened  the  meeting  by  an  address 
to  the  throne  of  grace. 

On  motion,  the  following  brethren,  Jesse  Ives, 
William  Heath,  John  Hinkman,  James  Hendrix 
and  William  Gilbreath,  were  appointed  a  com- 
mittee, who  submitted  the  following  preamble,  and 
resolutions,  which  were  read,  examined  and  adopted 
by  the  meeting. 

"Whereas  it  is  the  undoubted  right  of  all  free- 
men peaceably  to  assemble  and  freely  to  declare 
their  sentiments  on  the  conduct  of  their  ecclesiasti- 
cal as  well  as  civil  rulers; — and  whereas,  when 
the  General  Conference  were  petitioned  to  give  up 
the  dangerous  power  which  they  had  assumed,  they 
refused  to  do  it,  and  professed  that  they  were  the 
divinely  instituted  authority  to  make,  alter  and  en- 
force the  laws  of  the  church,  and  have  denied  us 
the  liberty  of  the  press  and  the  freedom  of  speech ; 
and  the  preacher  in  charge  of  this  circuit  having  ex- 
pressed a  determination  to  prefer  charges  against 
all  the  members  who  circulate  the  '  Mutual  Rights 
and  Christian  Intelligencer,'  or  propagate  the  prin- 


292  HISTORY    OP    THE 

ciples  of  reform  therein  supported,  which  this  meet- 
ing believe  to  be  reasons  sufficient  to  justify  the 
adoption   of  the  following  resolutions :  Therefore, 

"  Resolved,  1st.  That  this  meeting  highly  disap- 
prove of  the  government  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  so 
far  as  it  respects  the  unlimited  control  of  the  itiner- 
ant preachers  over  the  church;  believing  it  to  be 
contrary  to  the  rules  laid  down  by  our  Saviour  in 
the  New  Testament,  and  practiced  upon  by  his 
apostles  after  his  ascension  to  glory,  and  contrary 
to  our  federal  and  state  constitutions. 

"Resolved,  2.  That  we  consider  it  a  duty  which 
we  owe  to  ourselves  and  our  posterity,  to  withdraw 
from  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

"  Resolved,  3.  Thafthe  articles  of  association  of 
the  Associated  Methodist  Churches  be  adopted, 
and  we  do  hereby  form  ourselves  into  a  society 
under  their  regulations. 

"Resolved,  4.  That  this  meeting  receive  the  Rev. 
John  Coe,  local  elder,  and  Isaac  Coe,  licensed 
preacher,  into  our  church,  in  the  same  standing 
which  they  had  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
as  ministers,  with  the  same  offices  and  privileges." 

This  church  thus  organized,  consisted  of  thirty- 
four  members:  and  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Merriwether 
returned  at  the  end  of  his  '■'■four  weeks,"  he  found 
that  but  two  of  all  his  flock  at  Moriah,  were  left  in 
the  pales  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  The  Rev.  John 
Coe  accepted  the  invitation  and  charge  of  the 
church,  and  prosperity  attended  the  labors  of  this 
faithful  minister  of  Christ.     This  was  the  first  As- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  293 

sociated  Methodist  Church  in  Western  Carolina, 
and  the  influence  which  it  has  exerted,  and  the 
beneficial  results  produced  thereby  in  furtherance 
of  the  principles  of  Methodist  Protestantism,  have 
been  vast  indeed. 

But  the  Rev.  Mr.  Merriwether  was  not  willing  to 
stop  here.  Having  ascertained  that  the  Rev.  Travis 
Jones,  an  aged  local  minister  within  his  charge, 
was  a  patron  and  reader  of  the  "  Mutual  Rights  and 
Christian  Intelligencer,"  he  proceeded  to  summon 
him  to  trial  in  due  form,  alleging  no  charges  of  im- 
morality against  him — no  allegations,  save  those  of 
patronizing  and  reading  that  religious  periodical. 
The  committee  sat,  Mr.  Merriwether  presided,  and 
Rev.  Travis  Jones,  orthodox  in  doctrine,  unblem- 
ished in  reputation,  was  expelled  from  the  M.  E. 
Church. 

This  high-handed  measure  produced  deep  dis- 
satisfaction in  the  church  at  Bethel,  in  the  vicinity 
of  Rev.  Mr.  Jones  ;  this  church  was  composed  of  a 
numerous  society,  highly  respectable  for  its  piety, 
numbers  and  influence;  but  seeing  brother  Jones 
stricken  down  so  unjustly  by  the  hand  of  arbitrary 
power,  from  his  ministerial  functions,  without  the 
semblance  of  error"  on  his  part,  this  whole  church 
(with  one  or  two  exceptions)  withdrew  in  a  body 
and  united  with  the  reformers.  Indeed  Mr.  Merri- 
wether seems  to  have  been  quite  an  adept  in  the 
science  of  making  reformers  in  little  time.  But  the 
zeal  for  proscribing  brethren  for  opinion's  sake  car- 
ried the  Rev.  Mr.  Merriwether  farther  still,  and  he 
25* 


294  HISTORY    OF    THE 

visited  a  neighboring  circuit,  and  at  a  two  days' 
meeting  on  that  circuit  undertook  to  expose,  as  he 
affected  to  believe,  the  errors  and  mischievous  ten- 
dency of  the  conduct  and  the  course  pursued  by 
the  "  radicals"  as  he  was  pleased  to  call  them. 
His  object  appeared  to  be  to  incite  a  spirit  of  hos- 
tility against  the  reformers  generally,  and  those 
composing  the  church  at  Moriah  particularly.  A 
camp-meeting  soon  came  on  in  this  part  of  the 
country,  and  some  official  brethren,  who  had  re- 
cently attended  a  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference 
among  the  reformers  at  Moriah,  were  in  attendence, 
who  soon  understood  that  this  act  of  attending  a 
meeting  among  their  Christian  friends  had  rendered 
them  obnoxious  in  the  sight  of  their  itinerant  rulers. 
Among  the  itinerants  at  this  meeting,  that  noted 
leader  in  proscriptive  rudeness,  the  Rev.  Benjamin 
Edge,  who  had  been  so  severely  scathed  by  the 
defence  of  Rev.  W.  W.  Hill,  in  August,  1825,  made 
his  appearance.  His  feelings  towards  the  reformers 
had  undergone  no  change  for  the  better. 

As  Quarterly  Conference  was  to  be  held  in  con- 
nection with  the  camp- meeting,  a  brother,  Alexan- 
der Robbins,  came  up  recommended  for  license  to 
preach,  but  as  he  had  been  to  a  meeting  among  the 
reformers,  he  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  "birds 
hi  strange  feathers."  One  of  the  preachers  under- 
standing that  bro.  Robbins  was  desirous  to  discon- 
tinue the  "  Christian  Advocate "  and  to  take  the 
"Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer,"  in 
order  to  hear  both  sides  of  the  question,  endeav- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  295 

ored  to  dissuade  him  from  such  a  step;  and  pro- 
posed to  him  to  patronize  the  paper  called  the 
"  Itinerant"  promising  at  the  same  time  that  he 
should  have  it  gratis,  provided  he  did  not  patronize 
the  "Mutual  Rights."  At  this  stage  of  the  contro- 
versy, the  Rev.  B.  Edge  addressing  himself  to  Mr. 
Robbins  remarked,  "I  have  said  that  jrou  were  on 
the  way  to  join  the  reformers,  as  I  have  heard  that 
you  have  been  to  a  meeting  among  the  'Rads?  " 
To  which  Mr.  Robbins  replied,  "  I  have,  but  what 
of  that?" 

Benjamin  Edge.  We  will  cut  down  every  man 
that  will  associate  with  that  people. 

A.  Robbins.  But  have  you  a  right  to  cut  them 
down  if  their  conduct  is  upright  and  their  characters 
stand  fair? 

B.  Edge.  Yes,  we  have;  for  who  can  walk 
among  the  pots  without  getting  smutted  ?  These 
schismatics  are  a  bad  people. 

A.  Robbins.  If  you  intend  to  cut  down  and  de- 
stroy the  influence  of  every  man  for  no  other  cause 
than  visiting  his  religious  friends,  I  will  belong  to 
no  such  a  party;  and  I  do  therefore  declare  that  I 
am  no  longer  a  member  of  the  M.  E.  Church. 

Of  the  conduct  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Edge  we  will 
leave  the  reader  to  form  his  own  opinion.  We 
regret,  deeply  regret,  on  account  of  the  ministerial 
office,  that  it  is  so  deficient  of  the  spirit  and  sanc- 
tity of  religion.  Mr.  Robbins  made  no  effort  at 
this  meeting  to  obtain  preacher's  license,  but  having 
a  consultation  with  Rev.  John  Wilburn  and  Rev^ 


296  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Alson  Gray,  local  preachers,  and  relating  to  them 
the  declarations  set  forth  by  Mr.  Edge,  they  also 
resolved  to  withdraw  from  the  M.  E.  Church. 
They  accordingly  designated  the  following  Saturday 
as  the  time  for  meeting,  to  organize  themselves  into 
an  Associated  Methodist  Church  under  the  conven- 
tional articles.  The  meeting  was  held  and  a  church 
of  sixteen  members  was  formed,  called  Liberty, 
including  four  local  preachers.  This  church  soon 
rapidly  increased  in  membership,  and  prosperity 
has  continued  to  mark  her  progress  up  to  the  pre- 
sent period.  To  these  three  churches  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  Moriah,  Bethel  and  Liberty,  may  be 
attributed  the  rise  and  formation  of  six  circuits  in 
Western  Carolina,  numbering  upwards  of  two 
thousand  members. 

Through  the  indefatigable  labors  of  Rev.  Alson 
Gray,  the  principles  of  mutual  rights  were  speedily 
disseminated  in  this  part  of  Carolina,  and  many 
churches  organized.  An  account  of  one  of  the 
churches  organized  by  that  minister,  is  worthy  of  a 
place  in  this  history. 

At  Sandy  Ridge,  Guilford  county,  he  organized 
a  class  of  three  ladies — Mrs.  Lindsay  and  Mrs.  Anna 
and  Harriet  Chipman.  The  place  of  worship  at 
that  time  was  in  a  small  dilapidated  school  house. 
For  twelve  months  did  this  little  band  of  pious 
females  stand  alone.  Gloomy  indeed  appeared  the 
prospect.  But  they  fainted  not  nor  despised  the 
day  of  small  things.  At  length  a  revival  of  religion 
broke  out;  their  numbers  were  increased  and  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  297 

star  of  pjpsperity  began  to  shine  upon  their  path. 
In  1844  this  society  numbered  upwards  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy  members,  and  has  since  had 
a  respectable  increase. 

In  summing  up  an  account  of  the  excommunica- 
tions which  took  place  in  Carolina,  it  appears  that 
the  following  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  expelled 
from  the  M.  E.  Church  on  account  of  their  opinions 
with  regard  to  the  polity  of  the  church,  viz:  Revs. 
James  Hunter,  Henry  Bradford,  William  Bellamy, 
E.  B.  Whitaker,  William  Price,  Miles  Nash,  Albrit- 
on  Jones,  C.  Drake,  J.  Swift,  S.  Swift,  H.  Tar- 
kington,  R.  Davison,  James  Hunt,  Travis  Jones. 

Among  the  laity  it  appears  that  not  more  than 
eight  suffered  excommunication  on  account  of  their 
reform  principles.  The  proscription  of  all  these 
ministers  and  laymen  appears  to  have  met  the  ap- 
probation and  concurrence  of  the  Quarterly  and 
Annual  Conferences  having  cognizance  of  the 
actions  of  the  principal  administrators  of  discipline. 

In  the  State  of  Maryland,  as  we  gather  from  the 
documents  and  publications  extant,  thirteen  minis- 
ters and  twenty-two  laymen  were  expelled  for  the 
same  causes  as  the  above. * 

In  Cincinnati  four  ministers  or  preachers  and  ten 
laymen. 

In  Lynchburg  two  ministers  and  nine  laymen, 
and  in  Northumberland,  Va.,  one  minister  and  eight 
laymen. 

*See  Mutual  Rights,  vol.  ili,  p.  129. 


298  HISTORY    OF    THE 

In  Tennessee  fifteen  official  members  of  the 
church  were  publicly  read  out,  a  number  of  which 
were  ministers  and  preachers. 

The  case  of  the  expulsions  in  the  last  named 
state  was  carried  up  to  the  Annual  Conference, 
and  that  body  not  only  reversed  the  decision  had 
against  these  reformers  in  the  tribunals  below,  but 
passed  resolutions  censuring  the  conduct  of  the  pre- 
siding elder,  the  Rev.  James  Gwynn,  through 
whose  agency  and  action  they  had  been  expelled. 

The  action  of  the  Tennessee  Annual  Conference 
in  this  case  materially  differs  from  that  of  the  Vir- 
ginia and  Baltimore  Conferences.  Appeals  of  a 
similar  nature,  involving  the  same  principles  and 
rights,  were  carried  up  to  them,  but  in  both  instances 
the  administrations  of  the  men  in  power  were 
approved. 

The  following  table  affords  something  like  a  sta- 
tistical account  of  the  expelled  ministers  and  mem- 
bers that  were  excluded  from  the  M.  E.  Church 
during  the  agitation  of  the  subject  of  reform. 


In  Maryland,  of  the  ministry,    . 

.  .  13 — of  the  laity,  .  . 

22 

"  N.  Carolina,                 "       .  . 

.  .  14—"    " 

it 

.    8 

"  Cincinnati,                   "       .   . 

.  .    4—"    « 

tc 

10 

"  Lynchburg,  Va.,          "       .  . 

.  .    2—"    " 

te 

9 

"Northumberland,  Va.,"        .  . 

.  .   1—"    " 

it 

.  8 

"  Tennessee,                   "        .  . 

.  .  5—"    " 

ec 

10 

Total  ministers  39 

total  laity 

67 

Sum  total  106. 

If  we  take  into  the  account  the  five  churches 
struck  off  from  the  Roanoke  Circuit  in  Carolina, 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  299 

containing  nearly   one   hundred   members  in   the 
aggregate,  the  number  is  greatly  increased. 

The  first  Virginia  Annual  Conference  was  organ- 
ized under  the  conventional  articles  of  association 
at  Lynchburg,  June  1st,  1S29.  The  conference 
was  composed  of  the  following  ministers,  viz  :  Rev. 
A.  McCaine,  Rev.  J.  B.  Tilden,  Rev.  G.  Reed, 
Rev.  Miles  King,  Rev.  B.  G.  Burgess,  Rev.  Wm. 
Pinnell,  Rev.  Benedict  Burgess,  Sr.,  Rev.  Richard 
Latimore,  Rev.  W.  H.  Comann,  Rev.  Dr.  J.  French, 
and  Rev.  John  Percival.*  The  Rev.  Alexander 
McCaine  was  elected  president.  The  district  was 
laid  off'  into  eight  circuits,  and  the  ministers  were 
appointed  to  their  respective  charges  or  fields  of 
labor. 

October  the  8th  of  this  year  an  Annual  Confer- 
ence of  Associated  Methodist  Churches  was  organ- 
ized at  Philadelphia,  "  composed  of  ministers, 
preachers,  and  lay  delegates  from  Pennsylvania, 
Delaware,  New  Jersey,  and  western  section  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  Eighteen  ordained  ministers 
and  fifteen  licensed  preachers  and  lay  brethren 
composed  the  conference.  The  Rev.  John  Smith, 
of  Delaware,  an  old  and  highly  respected  minister, 
was  elected  president."  t  This  conference  laid  off 
its  fields  of  labor  into  fifteen  different  charges. 

On  the  2d  of  April  the  Maryland  Conference  of 
Associated  Methodists  met  in  the  city  of  Baltimore. 

*The  names  of  the  lay  delegates  are  not  recorded  in  this  work, 
f  See  "  Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer  "  for  October 
20th,  1829. 


300  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Twenty  ordained  ministers  and  twenty-six  lay  dele- 
gates were  in  attendance.  During  the  session  six 
deacons  were  ordained  to  the  office  of  elder,  and 
also  six  licentiates  were  ordained  to  deacon's  orders. 
The  Rev.  Nicholas  Snethen  was  elected  president. 
At  the  ensuing  session  this  conference  made  a 
return  of  about  2,000  members. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  ALABAMA  CONFERENCE. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev.  Peyton  Bibb,  pub- 
lished in  the  "  Mutual  Rights  and.  Christian  Intelli- 
gencer," dated  Alabama,  May  15th,  1829. 

"Our  Annual  Conference  for  South  Alabama  met 
on  the  1st  instant.  It  was  attended  by  sixteen 
preachers,  who  joined  the  reform  churches  under 
the  articles  of  association ;  and  there  were  two 
others  whose  ideas  of  reform  extended  further  than 
the  articles  appear  to  go.  They  did  not  join,  but 
are  willing  to  assist  us  with  their  labors.  There 
were  four  others  who  sent  in  their  names  as  re- 
formers. The  first  business  was  to  call  a  meeting 
of  the  Union  Society  and  read  the  articles  of  asso- 
ciation, which  were  adopted,  and  the  society  dis- 
solved. The  conference  then  convened,  and  after 
appointing  the  Rev.  Britton  Copel  their  president, 
proceeded  to  lay  off  the  work  among  the  preachers. 
They  appointed  another  conference  to  be  held  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  year.  Peace  and  love  crowned 
our  meeting." 

This  conference,  at  its  second  session,  held  Sep- 
tember 16th,  1830,  reported  881  members. 


METHODIST   PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  301 

The  first  Annual  Conference  of  the  Associated 
Methodist  Churches,  for  the  State  of  Georgia,  was 
held  in  Newton  county,  on  the  22d  of  July,  1S30. 
The  conference  was  organized  by  the  election  of 
Rev.  Eppes  Tucker,  president,  and  Harrison  Jones, 
secretary.  The  following  ministers  were  regarded 
as  members  of  this  conference: — Revs.  Eppes 
Tucker,  Aaron  G.  Brewer,  Jesse  Morris,  R.  W.  W, 
Wynne,  Jas.  Lowery,  R.  P.  Ward,  Ethel  Tucker, 
Robert  Walker,  Chas.  Williamson,  Harrison  Jones, 
John  A.  Russell,  Robert  McCorkle,  Thomas  Gard- 
ner, Henry  Saxon,  B.  Swearingen,  James  Hodge, 
Abraham  Lucas,  William  Pentecost,  J.  R.  Swain, 
C.  P.  Witherspoon. 

-  Twelve  lay  delegates  were  in  attendance  as 
members  of  this  conference,  representing  the  mem- 
bership. The  conference  laid  off  the  district  into 
eleven  circuits  or  fields  of  labor  and  one  mission. 
The  Rev.  A.  G.  Brewer  was  appointed  conference 
missionary. 

An  account  of  the  earlier  proceedings  of  the 
friends  of  mutual  rights  in  Georgia,  though  some- 
what out  of  order  as  to  rotation  of  dates,  will  not  be 
uninteresting  to  the  reader.  The  following,  from 
the  "Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer,"  is 
from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Brewer: 

"  The  first  organization  of  reformers  in  this  State 

took  place   in   1S27,  under  the  Discipline  of  the 

Methodist   Society.      The    number    in    the   societies 

was  about  seventy.     Their  number  became  a  little 

26 


302  HISTORY    OF    THE 

impaired  by  reason  of  the  difficulties  they  had  to 
encounter,  both  by  persecution  and  the  want  of  suf- 
ficient ministerial  help ;  but.  they,  nevertheless,  re- 
tained upwards  of  sixty  members.     Early  in  the 
year   1829   they  adopted  the  '  Conventional  Articles 
of  the  Associated  Methodist  Churches,'  and  have 
had    some    little    increase    since.       But   the    spirit 
of  reform  was  not  confined    to  this  despised  few; 
many  in  the   State,  in  different  counties,  were  ex- 
amining the   principles  and  vindicating  the  rights 
of  the  local  ministers  and  lay  members  to  a  seat  in 
the  legislative  department  of  the  church  of  God. 
And  within  nine  months  last  past  they  have  organ- 
ized ten  or  twelve  churches  under  the  conventional 
articles,  and  are  rapidly  increasing.      They  now 
number  about  three  hundred  in  this  State.     There 
are  at  least  sixteen  preachers,  and  the  number  is 
increasing.     The  excitement   spreads  just  in  pro- 
portion to  the  spread  of  information  on  the  subject 
of  the   pending  controversy  between   us   and   the 
'  old  side  church.'     For  so  soon  as  the  people  are 
made  acquainted  with   the  just   claims  of  the  re- 
formers, and  the  treatment  they  have  received  from 
the  ministers  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal   Church, 
(the  '  divinely  authorized  expounders,'  as  they  are 
pleased  to  call  themselves,)  they  are  our  decided 
friends,  and  concede  the  rights  we  claim. 

"  I  presume  the  work  will  spread  much  more 
rapidly  after  our  conference  and  camp-meeting  than 
it  has  yet  done,  as  the  conference  will  undoubtedly 
be  able  to  give  a  greater  extent  of  privileges  to  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  303 

churches,  by  enlarging  the  field  of  labor  of  the 
preachers.  In  fine,  our  prospects  are  good,  and 
nothing  can  prevent  our  success  but  a  want  of 
faithfulness  to  God.  May  the  Fountain  of  good- 
ness help  us  in  this  struggle  for  an  ecclesiastical 
independence. 

"  Truly  and  sincerely  yours,  in  Christian  liberty, 

"Aaron  G.  Brewer. 

"  Georgia,  April  16th,  1830." 

Early  in  the  year  1830  a  body  of  Methodists  who 
had  been  organized  as  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  body 
in  western  New  York,  and  had  formed  an  Annual 
Conference  embracing  about  twehly-rlve  ministers 
and  preachers,  and  between  four  and  five  hundred 
members,  adopted  the  conventional  articles  of  the 
Associated  Methodist  Churches,  and  fell  into  line 
with  the  reformers.  The  appellation  by  which  this 
religious  fraternity  had  heretofore  been  known  was 
the  Methodist  Society.  An  account  of  this  transac- 
tion is  given  in  the  "Mutual  Rights  and  Christian 
Intelligencer"  in  the  following  words,  by  the  secre- 
tdivy  of  the  first  Annual  Conference,  the  Rev.  O. 
Miller : 

"  The  Rochester  Annual  Conference  of  the  Meth- 
odist Society  held  its  session  in  Ontario,  Wayne- 
county,  commencing  on  the  13th  inst,  (February,) 
and  having  closed  the  ordinary  business,  the  con- 
ference resolved  itself  into  committee  of  the  whole 
on  the  following  question  : 

"  'Shall  we  adopt  the  conventional  articles  of  the 
Associated  Methodist  Churches  ?' 


304  HISTORY    OF    THE 

"  After  considerable  discussion  and  mature  de- 
liberation— although  there  were  some  of  the  articles 
which  to  us  were  somewhat  objectionable,  yet  from 
our  knowledge  of  the  sentiments  of  our  reforming 
brethren,  as  stated  and  ably  defended  in  the  '  Mu- 
tual Rights,'  being  convinced  that  their  sentiments 
on  ecclesiastical  government  were  in  unison  with 
ours,  and  possessing  the  fullest  confidence  in  their 
intelligence,  piety,  experience  and  talents,  and  pre- 
suming that  the  convention  of  1S30  will  possess 
sufficient  wisdom  to  correct  any  improprieties  of  the 
present  articles — the  conference  adopted  all  the 
articles  so  far  as  they  are  not  opposed  to  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  Methodist  Society,  and  resolved 
itself  into  a  conference,  under  the  title  of  the  Gen- 
esee Conference  of  the  Associated  Methodist 
Churches ;  and  proceeded  to  elect  five  delegates 
to  attend  the  convention  in  Baltimore,  in  November 
next." 

The  conference  elected  the  Rev.  J.  Covel  presi- 
dent, and  laid  off  its  district  into  seventeen  fields 
of  labor  or  circuits. 

The  first  Annual  Conference  for  the  State  of 
Vermont  met,  and  was  organized  under  the  con- 
ventional articles  of  association,  at  Shelburn,  on 
the  19th  of  February,  1S30.  The  Rev.  Luther 
Chamberlain  was  elected  president,  and  C.  Walker 
secretary.  This  conference  was  composed  of  five 
ministers  and  five  lay  delegates.  The  ministers 
were   Rev.   Luther  Chamberlain,   Rev.  Nathaniel 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  305 

Gage,  Rev.  Chandler  Walker,  Rev.  David  Ferris, 
Rev.  Thomas  A.  Carpenter. 

The  respective  Annual  Conferences  which  were 
organized  up  to  the  latter  part  of  1830  elected  their 
delegates  to  represent  them  in  the  general  conven- 
tion which  was  to  meet  in  Baltimore,  on  the  2d  of 
November,  in  this  year. 

The  first  conference  for  the  State  of  Tennessee 
was  held  in  Bedford  county,  October,  1829.  The 
writer  has  been  unable  to  obtain  a  copy  of  its  trans- 
actions, consequently  he  is  unable  to  say  any  thing 
more  with  regard  to  its  organization. 

GENERAL    CONVENTION. 

On  the  2d  of  November,  1830,  the  general  con- 
vention met  in  the  city  of  Baltimore.  This  body 
was  composed  of  eighty-three  ministerial  and  lay 
delegates,  and  was  organized  by  the  election  of 
Francis  Waters,  D.  D.,  president,  and  Rev.  Wm. 
C.  Lipscomb  secretary.  The  committee  which  had 
been  appointed  at  the  convention  of  182S  to  draft  a 
Constitution  and  Discipline,  made  their  report  by 
reading  the  "draft  of  aConstitution  and  Discipline."* 
After  minutely  and  carefully  investigating  the  drafts 
presented,  and  making  some  small  alterations,  the 
present  most  excellent  Constitution  and  Discipline, 
as  it  is  found  in  the  edition  of  1830,  were  adopted. 

The  convention  adopted  the  following  preamble 
and  elementary  principles  by  which  the  Constitution 
stands  prefaced  : 

*  See  Williams's  History  of  the  M.  P.  Church,  page  301. 
26* 


306  HISTORY    OF    THE 

We,  the  representatives  of  the  Associated  Meth- 
odist Churches,  in  general  convention  assembled, 
acknowledging  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  the  only 
Head  of  the  church,  and  the  word  of  God  as  the 
sufficient  rule  of  faith  and  practice  in  all  things  per- 
taining to  godliness ;  and  being  fully  persuaded 
that  the  representative  form  of  church  government 
is  the  most  scriptural,  best  suited  to  our  condition, 
and  most  congenial  to  our  views  and  feelings  as 
fellow  citizens  with  the  saints,  and  of  the  house- 
hold of  God  :  and  whereas  a  written  Constitution, 
establishing  the  form  of  government,  and  securing 
to  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  church  their 
rights  and  privileges,  is  the  best  safeguard  of  Chris- 
tian liberty  ;  we,  therefore,  trusting  in  the  protection 
of  Almighty  God,  and  acting  in  the  name  and  by 
the  authority  of  our  constituents,  do  ordain  and 
establish  and  agree  to  be  governed  by  the  following 
elementary  principles  and  Constitution  : 

1.  A  Christian  church  is  a  society  of  believers  in 
Jesus  Christ,  and  is  of  divine  institution. 

2.  Christ  is  the  only  Head  of  the  church  ;  and  the 
word  of  God  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  conduct. 

3.  No  person  who  loves  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  obeys  the  gospel  of  God  our  Saviour  ought  to 
be  deprived  of  church  membership. 

4.  Every  man  has  an  inalienable  right  to  private 
judgment  in  matters  of  religion,  and  an  equal  right 
to  express  his  opinion  in  any  way  which  will  not 
violate  the  laws  of  God  or  the  rights  of  his  fellow 
men. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  307 

5.  Church  trials  should  be  conducted  on  gospel 
principles  only;  and  no  minister  or  member  should 
be  excommunicated  except  for  immoralit}",  the 
propagation  of  unchristian  doctrines,  or  for  the 
neglect  of  duties  enjoined  by  the  word  of  God. 

6.  The  pastoral  or  ministerial  office  and  duties 
are  of  divine  appointment,  and  all  elders  in  the 
church  of  God  are  equal ;  but  ministers  are  for- 
bidden to  be  lords  over  God's  heritage,  or  to  have 
dominion  over  the  faith  of  the  saints. 

7.  The  church  has  a  right  to  form  and  enforce 
such  rules  and  regulations  only  as  are  in  accord 
ance  with  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  may  be  neces- 
sary or   have  a  tendency  to   carry  into  effect  the 
great  system  of  practical  Christianity. 

8.  Whatever  power  may  be  necessary  to  the 
formation  of  rules  and  regulations  is  inherent  in  the 
ministers  and  members  of  the  church  ;  but  so  much 
of  that  power  may  be  delegated,  from  time  to  time, 
upon  a  plan  of  representation,  as  they  may  judge 
necessary  and  proper. 

9.  It  is  the  duty  of  all  ministers  and  members 
of  the  church  to  maintain  godliness  and  to  oppose 
all  moral  evil. 

10.  It  is  obligatory  on  ministers  of  the  gospel  to 
be  faithful  in  the  discharge  of  their  pastoral  and 
ministerial  duties ;  and  it  is  also  obligatory  on  the 
members  to  esteem  ministers  highly  for  their  work's 
sake,  and  to  render  them  a  righteous  compensation 
for  their  labors. 


30S  HISTORY    OF    THE 

II.  The  church  ought  to  secure  to  all  her  official 
bodies  the  necessary  authority  tor  the  purposes  of 
good  government;  but  she  has  no  right  to  create 
any  distinct  or  independent  sovereignties. 

These  elementary  principles  embrace  what  the 
reformers,  whilst  within  the  pales  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  had  petitioned  and  contended 
for,  and  for  which  they  had  suffered  persecution, 
proscription  and  expulsion ;  and  the  Constitution 
was  carefully  drawn  so  as  not  to  conflict  with  those 
principles. 

It  will  be  unnecessary  to  embody  the  Constitu- 
tion in  the  plan  of  this  work,  inasmuch  as  that  in- 
strument has  been  so  generally  read  and  examined 
by  all  who  have  perused  the  Discipline  of  the  Meth- 
odist Protestant  Church.  In  the  first  article  of  the 
Constitution  the  title  of  the  church  is  given  in  these 
words :  "  This  association  shall  be  denominated 
The  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  comprising 
the  Associated  Methodist  Churches." 

The  members  of  this  communion,  whilst  within 
the  pales  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  had 
by  their  writings,  their  essays,  their  memorials,  their 
remonstrances,  and  their  acts,  protested  against  the 
governmental  policy  of  that  church,  but  never 
against  her  doctrines  ;  and  in  adopting  a  name  by 
which  the  church  was  to  be  known  among  her 
sister  churches,  the  convention  chose  the  above  title 
as  expressive  of  the  principles  of  her  ecclesiastical 
polity. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  309 

The  Constitution  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church  is  justly  entitled  to  the  admiration  of  every 
lover  of  mutual  rights.  It  secures  to  the  ministry 
and  membership  all  that  is  scripturally  and  legiti- 
mately their  right.  It  serves  as  a  barrier  to  pre- 
vent the  one  from  encroaching  upon  the  preroga- 
tives of  the  other,  and  is  a  beautiful  exempliBcation 
of  church  polity  for  which  the  reformers  had  been 
contending,  and  for  which  they  had  suffered  so 
much  contumely  and  reproach.  One  of  the  articles 
of  the  Constitution,  which  makes  provision  for 
altering  the  same,  may  not  perhaps  be  improperly 
inserted  here,  inasmuch  as  one  item  has  been 
amended  or  altered  since  its  adoption. 

"  Art.  16. — Provisions  for  altering  the  Constitution. 
1.  The  General  Conference  shall  have  power  to 
amend  any  part  of  this  constitution  except  the 
second,  tenth  and  fourteenth  articles,  by  making 
alterations  or  additions,  as  maybe  recommended  in 
writing,  by  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  the 
Annual  Conferences  next  preceding  the  sitting  of 
the  General  Conference. 

"2.  The  second,  tenth  and  fourteenth  articles  of 
this  constitution  shall  be  unalterable,  except  by  a 
general  convention  called  for  the  special  purpose 
by  two-thirds  of  the  whole  number  of  the  Annual 
Conferences,  next  preceding  the  General  Confer- 
ence, which  convention,  and  all  other  conventions 
of  this  church,  shall  be  constituted  and  elected  in 
the  same  manner  and  ratio  as  prescribed  for  the 
General  Conference.     When  a  General  Conference 


310  HISTORy    OF    THE 

is  called  by  the  Annual  Conference,  it  shall  super- 
sede the  assembling  of  the  General  Conference  for 
that  period  ;  and  shall  have  power  to  discharge  all 
the  duties  of  that  body,  in  addition  to  the  particu- 
lar object  for  which  the  convention  shall  have  been 
assembled." 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  article  makes  provis- 
ion for  altering  the  constitution,  and  in  conformity 
thereto  the  first  section  of  the  eighth  article  was 
altered  at  the  General  Conference  of  1838.  That 
article  required  the  General  Conference  to  be  held 
once  in  seven  years,  but  it  was  soon  ascertained 
that  the  interval  between  the  meetings  of  the  Gen- 
eral Conference  would  be  too  long,  and  at  a  called 
session  of  the  General  Conference  in  1838,  the 
period  of  meeting  was  altered  lo  every  fourth  year 
thereafter. 

The  convention  likewise  passed  the  following 
resolution : 

"  Whereas  it  is  declared  b}r  this  convention  that, 
whatever  power  may  be  necessary  to  the  formation 
of  rules  and  regulations,  is  inherent  in  the  minis- 
ters and  members  of  the  church  ;  and  that  so  much 
of  that  power  may  be  delegated  from  time  to  time, 
upon  a  plan  of  representation,  as  they  may  judge 
proper:  therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  all  power  not  delegated  to  the 
respective  official  bodies  of  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church  by  this  convention,  are  retained  to  said 
ministers  and  members." 

The  preceding  resolution  was  passed  about  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  311 

close  of  the  session,  and  exhibits  in  a  most  striking 
point  of  view  the  due  regard  which  the  convention 
had  for  the  rights  of  their  constituents.  Every 
article  they  adopted,  and  every  resolution  they 
passed,  was  worthy  the  wisdom  and  integrity  of 
that  body.  They  had  been  delegated  with  authority 
by  their  Christian  brethren  to  form  a  constitution, 
not  for  the  convenience  of  a  "privileged few ,"  but 
for  their  Christian  brethren  of  the  entire  church, 
both  of  the  ministry  and  laity — American  Chris- 
tians, who  justly  appreciated  their  rights,  both  civil 
and  religious.  This  convention  therefore  had  the 
enviable  satisfaction  of  presenting  to  the  church,  as 
the  result  of  their  labors,  a  constitution  which  amply 
met  the  wishes  of  their  constituents,  by  securing  the 
interests  of  all  the  parties  concerned. 

The  hymn  book  published  by  John  J.  Harrod, 
and  known  by  the  title  of  "  Associated  Methodist 
Hymns,"  was  adopted  by  the  convention  to  be  used 
in  the  churches  until  the  ensuing  General  Confer- 
ence. Up  to  this  period  the  periodical  devoted  to 
the  interests  of  the  reformers  or  Associated  Meth- 
odists, and  first  called  the  "Mutual  Rights,"  and 
afterwards  the  "  Mutual  Rights  and  Christian  In- 
telligencer," had  been  published  upon  the  respon- 
sibility of  the  Baltimore  Union  Society.  This  paper 
was  transferred  by  the  Union  Society  to  the  conven- 
tion, to  be  conducted  under  rules  and  regulations 
prescribed  by  its  authority.  Its  name  was  now 
altered  from  that  of  "  Mutual  Rights  and  Christian 
Intelligencer,"  to  "Mutual  Rights  and  Methodist 
Protestant." 


312  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  convention  also  appointed  a  book  committee, 
consisting  of  five  persons,  whose  duty  it  was  "to 
select,  from  time  to  time,  such  books,  tracts,  &c, 
for  publication  as  a  majority  of  them  might  deem 
proper."  A  book  agent  was  appointed  to  publish 
such  books,  tracts,  &c,  as  might  be  agreed  on  by 
the  book  committee  and  himself;  all  of  which  were 
required  to  be  sold  to  the  conferences,  preachers 
and  members  at  wholesale  prices.  The  agent  was 
required  to  make  a  discount  of  ten  per  cent,  from 
the  wholesale  prices  on  all  money  paid  to  him  by 
the  conferences,  preachers  and  members,  which 
ten  per  cent,  was  to  be  paid  over  to  the  book  com- 
mittee, to  be  held  by  them  as  a  book  fund  for  the 
church.  A  resolution  was  also  adopted,  that  the 
several  Annual  Conferences  be  most  earnestly  re- 
quested to  adopt  such  measures  as  in-their  wisdom 
they  may  deem  most  proper  for  the  purpose  of 
creating  additional  funds,  to  aid  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  book  concern  by  the  ensuing  General 
Conference.* 

The  conferences  which  were  represented  in,  and 
recognized  by  the  convention,  were  the  Vermont, 
the  Boston,  the  New  York  and  Lower  Canada,  the 
Genesee,  the  Pennsylvania,  the  Maryland,  the 
Virginia,  the  North  Carolina,  the  Tennessee,  the 
Georgia,  and  the  Ohio;  amounting  in  number  to 
thirteen. 

From  the  rise  of  the  convention  until  the  meet- 

*  See  first  edition  of  the  Discipline  M.  P.  Church. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  313 

ing  of  the  General  Conference  in  1834,  the  Method- 
ist Protestant  Church  continued  steadily  to  increase 
in  numbers  ;  although  her  downfall  or  dissolution 
was  confidently  predicted  by  those  who  prayed  not 
for  her  prosperity.  Some  of  those  foretellers  of 
events  limited  her  existence  to  three  years  ;  others 
to  seven;  and  some  few  allotted  her  ten;  but  it  is 
believed  that  none  of  these  prophets  had  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  things  whereof  they  spake,  al- 
though they  spake  as  they  were  moved. 

Julius  Caesar  once  made  the  remark,  that  "it  is 
very  natural  for  a  man  to  believe  that  which  he 
wishes  to  take  place."  Upon  this  principle,  there- 
fore, we  may  account  for  the  manner  in  which 
many  of  the  prophecies  in  regard  to  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church  were  predicted.  After  the 
organization  of  the  M.  P.  Church,  it  was  very 
common  for  the  ministry  and  membership  of  that 
communion  to  be  represented  by  some  who  were 
to  be  found  in  the  pales  of  the  old  church,  as 
"Backsliders,"  Expelled  persons,"  "Radicals," 
"Restless  Spirits;"  the  community  in  many  places 
were  cautioned  against  them  as  persons  altogether 
unworthy  of  Christian  regard.  But  wherever  the 
causes  and  principles  which  led  to  the  formation  of 
the  M.  P.  Church  were  understood  amono;  other  reli- 
gious  denominations,  she  was  respected  and  re- 
garded as  a' branch  of  the  church  of  Christ;  and 
probably  among  all  the  churches  throughout  the 
United  States,  none  has  manifested  a  more  cour- 
teous, liberal  and  Christianlike  spirit  towards  this 
27 


314  HISTORY    OF    THE 

young  daughter  of  Zion,  than  the  Presbyterian 
Church. 

The  kindness  and  courtesy  manifested  by  the 
Presbyterian  brethren  towards  the  ministry  of  the 
M.  P.  Church,  have  placed  the  latter  under  a  last- 
ing debt  of  gratitude,  as  well  as  elevated  them- 
selves thereby,  in  the  respect  and  esteem  of  the 
latter.  Perhaps  this  was  the  cause  that  induced 
the  Rev.  Cornelius  Springer  of  Ohio,  in  a  speech 
upon  the  floor  of  our  last  General  Conference,  to 
call  the  "  Presbyterian  the  most  respectable  Church  in 
the  United  States."  Some  member  of  the  body  ob- 
jected to  the  phraseology  of  the  speaker,  as  it 
seemed  to  place  that  church  too  pre-eminent  over 
the  other  sister  churches — the  speaker  then,  with 
that  characteristic  pleasantness  for  which  he  is  dis- 
tinguished, transposed  the  sentiment  by  changing 
it  into  this  form,  "the  Presbyterian  church,  which  is 
among  the  most  respectable  in  the  United  States." 

They  are  our  friends  who  cleave  to  us  in  the 
day  of  adversity,  and  it  is  but  proper  and  right 
that  we  should  love  and  appreciate  those  friends; 
and  that  we  as  a  church  have  not  been  deficient  in 
this  respect,  we  think  the  following  anecdote  will 
show :  A  gentleman  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  address- 
ing himself  to  a  lady  who  was  a  member  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  remarked,  "I  under- 
stand, Miss ,  that  the  reformers  are  very  fond  of 

other  denominations."  To  which  she  very  promptly 
replied,  "  1  am  happy  to  inform  you,  sir,  that  other 
denominations  are  very  fond  of  them." 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  315 


CHAPTER    X. 

General  Conference  of  1834. — General  Conference  of  1838. — Ex- 
citement in  that  body  upon  the  subject  of  Slavery. — General 
Conference  of  1842. — General  Conference  of  1846. — Boundaries 
of  the  Annual  Conferences. — Statistical  Table. — Concluding 
Remarks. 

The  first  General  Conference  of  the  Methodist 
Protestant  Church  met  in  Georgetown,  D.  C,  May 
6th,  1834.  The  Rev.  Nicholas  Snethen  was  elected 
president,  and  Rev.  William  C.  Lipscomb,  secre- 
tary. The  operations  of  the  Constitution  and  Dis- 
cipline had  been  watched  and  closely  observed 
from  their  adoption  up  to  this  period,  (a  space  of 
nearly  four  years,)  and  consequently  the  General 
Conference  was  prepared  to  make  such  alterations 
as  the  experience  of  the  past  might  suggest. 

By  a  comparison  of  the  edition  of  the  Discipline 
of  1841  with  that  of  1844,  it  will  be  observed  that 
some  very  important  changes  and  improvements 
were  made. 

This  General  Conference  recognized  fourteen 
Annual  Conferences — the  Pittsburg  Conference 
being  set  off,  constituting  one  more  new  conference 
district.  The  prosperity  that  had  attended  the 
labors  of  the  ministry,  and  the  consequent  increase 
of  numbers  or  numerical  strength,  according  to  the 


316  HISTORY    OF   THE 

statements  of  the  Mutual  Rights  and  Methodist 
Protestant,  were  greatly  encouraging.  Opposition 
had  generally  been  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  by  the 
supporters  of  the  one-man-power  system;  but  the 
truth  had  been  received  by  many,  and  embraced  by 
such  as  had  the  manly  independence  to  think,  to 
choose,  and  act  for  themselves.  The  minutes  of  the 
several  Annual  Conferences  now  exhibited  the 
membership  as  26,587;  and  the  ministers  and 
preachers  over  500,  about  one-third  of  whom  were 
in  the  itinerancy.*  This  General  Conference  took 
some  preliminary  steps  in  view  of  the  establishment 
of  a  book  concern  to  belong  to  the  church,  but  the 
business  did  not  succeed  according  to  the  expecta- 
tions of  its  projectors. 

From  the  rise  of  the  General  Conference  of  1834, 
until  the  sitting  of  the  General  Conference  of  1838, 
the  cause  of  republican  principles  of  church  polity 
was  onward.  Methodist  Protestantism  continued  to 
spread  and  her  principles  to  be  cherished.  Exten- 
sive revivals  of  religion  took  place  in  many  confer- 
ences, and  large  accessions  were  made  to  the  church, 
although  at  the  sitting  of  the  ensuing  General  Con- 
ference it  was  ascertained  that  the  ratio  of  increase 
(taking  the  entire  connection  into  the  account)  had 
been  small.  But  this  may  be  accounted  for  upon 
the  ground  that  in  many  places  a  great  declension 
of  religion  had  prevailed,  seriously  diminishing  the 
numbers  in   other  churches.     It   was   during  this 

*See  Williams's  History  M.  P.  Church,  page  327. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  317 

period  that  Methodist  Protestantism  began  to  obtain 
a  foothold  in  South  Carolina. 

In  the  year  1834  a  difficulty  arose  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,  in  the  city  of  Charleston, 
in  consequence  of  the  high-handed  and  arbitrary 
measures  of  the  men  in  power.  The  difficulty 
originated  between  the  ministry  and  the  officiary  of 
the  church  with  regard  to  the  extent  of  the  rights 
or  prerogatives  of  the  latter  as  trustees.  The  mat- 
ter was  pushed  to  the  most  unpleasant  extremes, 
and  resulted  in  the  expulsion  of  eight  worthy  and 
influential  members  from  the  church.  This  pro- 
ceeding was  of  such  a  nature  as  to  alarm  many  of 
the  brethren  and  friends  of  the  expelled  with  respect 
to  their  rights  as  members  of  the  church.  Accord- 
ingly about  one  hundred  and  fifty  withdrew  from 
the  communion  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  formed 
themselves  into  an  independent  church,  and  in  a 
formal  manner  adopted  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Discipline.  This  is  an  interesting  church.  Its  trials 
have  been  great,  but  it  has  stood  firm.  Upon  their 
organization  they  found  themselves  without  a  house 
of  worship,  and  arrangements  were  soon  made  to 
build  a  suitable  church.  In  the  early  part  of  1835 
the  house  was  finished  at  a  cost  of  $12,000.  In 
the  year  1838  the  great  fire  happened  in  Charles- 
ton, which  consumed  this  beautiful  house  of  wor- 
ship, leaving  the  society  without  a  place  in  which  to 
worship  their  God,  and  a  debt  of  four  thousand 
dollars  still  hanging  over  them  for  the  house  con- 
sumed in  the  conflagration.  But  they  fainted  not 
27* 


318  HISTORY    OF    THE 

in  the  day  of  adversity.  They  determined  to  re- 
build, and  appealing  to  the  benevolence  of  Christian 
friends  abroad,  they  embarked  in  the  effort  and 
succeeded  in  erecting,  upon  the  same  spot  on  which 
the  first  had  stood,  another  handsome  and  commo- 
dious church,  and  at  this  date  are  altogether  free 
from  church  debt.  Again,  in  the  early  part  of  1S45 
the  course  pursued  by  the  minister  in  charge  of  this 
station,  involved  the  society  in  sore  and  trying  diffi- 
culties by  his  indiscretions;  and  endeavoring  to 
sustain  himself  in  justification  of  his  conduct,  he 
formed  a  small  party  of  adherents,  who,  upon  his 
expulsion  from  the  ministry,  retired  from  the  church. 
Again,  two  superintendents  of  this  church  have 
been  stricken  down  by  the  hand  of  death  within  a 
few  years,  viz:  Rev.  D.  Davis  and  Rev.  William 
H.  Bordley,  pastors  dearly  beloved  of  the  flock. 
The  history  of  this  church  is  full  of  interest.  The 
misfortunes  and  trials  it  has  borne  have  led  many 
to  call  it  the  "  afflicted  church."  It  has  been  tried, 
sorely  tried,  and  yet  has  stood  firm.  Its  materiel 
is  made  up  of  sterling  spirits,  possessing  sound 
principles,  actuated  by  the  holiest  of  purposes. 
The  writer  cannot  soon  forget  the  happy  hours  and 
delightful  season  of  religious  enjoyment  he  realized 
when  attending  their  camp-meeting  in  1S45. 

GENERAL    CONFERENCE    OF   1838. 

The  General  Conference  of  1838  was  a  special 
session  called  by  a  constitutional  majority  of  the 
Annual  Conferences.     After  the  rise  of  the  General 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  319 

Conference  of  1S34  it  was  believed  by  many  that  the 
interests  of  the  church  would  be  better  subserved 
by  the  meeting  of  its  highest  legislative  department 
at  shorter  intervals.  The  subject  was  discussed 
by  many  writers  in  the  church  organ,  the  "  Mutual 
Rights  and  Christian  Intelligencer;"  and  the  subject 
coming  legally  before  the  respective  Annual  Con- 
ferences, it  was  decided  that  a  special  session  of 
the  General  Conference  should  meet  in  1S38,  and 
delegates  were  accordingly  elected  to  the  same. 

On  the  15th  of  May,  1S3S,  the  second  General 
Conference  met  at  Pittsburg,  Pennsylvania  ;  it  was 
composed  of  fifty-three  members,  representing  fif- 
teen Annual  Conferences. 

The  following;  are  the  names  of  the  members  of 
conference  : 

Boston  Conference — John  McLeish,  W.  Wyman. 

Vermont  Conference — John  Croker,  A.  McLaughlin. 

New  York  Conference — T.  W.  Pearson,  J.  L.  Ambler,  Win. 
Wood,  Wm.  Stead. 

Champlain  Conference — Nathan  Green. 

Genesee  Conference — Michael  Burge,  S.  Beecher. 

Pennsylvania  Conference — A.  Woolson,  W.  S.  Stockton. 

Maryland  Conference — Thomas  H.  Stockton,  Luther  J.  Cox, 
William  Kesley,  Wm.  C.  Lipscomb,  John  Clark,  E.  Crutchley, 
T.  C.  Brown,  J.  S.  Zeiber. 

Virginia  Conference — Rev.  Dr.  Finney,  J.  M.  Smith. 

North  Carolina  Conference — Samuel  B.  Harris,  L.  H.  B. 
Whitaker. 

Georgia  Conference — R  Blount,  C.  Kennon. 

Alabama  Conference — Peyton  S.  Graves,  B.  S   Bibb. 

Tennessee  Conference — R.  W.  Morris,  James  L.  Armstrong. 

Illinois  Conference — Wm.  H.  Collins,  R.  A.  Shipley. 

Ohio  Conference — B.  W.  Johnston,  M.  M.  Henkle,  William 
Disney,  S.  Bell,  J.  J.  Amos,  M.  Lyon. 


320  HISTORY    OF    THE 

Pittsburg  Conference — A.  Shinn,  George  Brown,  J  Elliott, 
C.  Springer,  E  Woodward,  D  B.  Dorsey,  C.  Avery,  J.  Carey, 
J.  Bell,  E.  Haskins,  T.  McKeever,  J.  Barnes,  W.  Garrard, 
B.  Connell. 

The  Rev.  Asa  Shinn,  of  the  Pittsburg  Confer- 
ence, was  elected  president,  and  the  Rev.  T.  W. 
Pearson,  secretary. 

No  alterations  of  any  importance  were  made  in 
the  Discipline  at  this  session  ;  its  general  provisions 
being  so  well  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  church 
that  it  was  deemed  most  prudent  to  make  but  little 
change. 

At  this  session  the  first  section  of  the  eighth  article 
of  the  Constitution  was  amended  by  striking  out  the 
word  seventh,  and  instituting  the  word  fourth,  in 
its  place,  so  as  to  require  a  meeting  of  the  General 
Conference  once  in  every  four  years,  instead  of  every 
seven.  A  plan  was  adopted  for  the  establishment 
of  a  church  book  concern.  The  project  proposed 
was  to  raise  a  capital  of  $20,000  for  the  purpose. 
The  object  had  in  view,  in  the  establishment  of  the 
book  concern,  was  of  a  twofold  nature.  1.  For  the 
publication  and  circulation  of  such  books  as  should 
tend  to  the  diffusion  of  religious  knowledge  and  to 
the  promotion  of  piety.  2.  The  raising  of  a  dividend 
to  enable  the  Annual  Conferences  respectively  to 
carry  out  their  plans  of  itinerant  operations,  in  dis- 
seminating the  great  truths  of  Christianity. 

One  of  the  sections  of  the  plan  adopted  reads  in 
the  following  words  :  "  After  the  year  1842,  let  it 
be  the  duty  of  the  committee  to  make  dividends 
from  the  profits  arising  out  of  the  business,  to  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURGH.  321 

respective  Annual  Conferences,  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  actual  capital  invested  by  the  respective 
conference  districts."  But  the  business  of  the 
concern  not  having  succeeded  as  well  as  it  was  ex- 
pected, no  division  of  dividends  has  yet  been  made 
to  the  Annual  Conferences,  and  the  profits  arising 
therefrom  have  been  applied  to  the  relief  of  the 
concern  from  its  obligations  and  to  the  extension  of 
its  business. 

It  was  at  this  session  of  the  General  Conference 
that  some  excitement  first  began  to  be  manifested 
upon  the  subject  of  slavery  in  connection  with  the 
church  ;  a  subject,  too,  that  most  unhappily  divides 
in  feeling  the  north  from  the  south,  both  in  its  civil 
and  religious  aspects,  and  the  agitation  of  which 
there  is  mach  reason  to  fear  has  militated,  not  only 
against  the  peace  of  the  church,  but  has  in  some 
places  seriously  affected  the  progress  of  religion. 
The  truth  of  this  assertion  is  sustained  by  history. 
The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  presents  a  case 
in  point.  It  was  upon  that  exciting  question  that 
the  north  and  south  parted  asunder  at  the  General 
Conference  of  1S44 ;  and  within  the  space  of  two 
years  it  appears  from  the  returns  that  the  Northern 
portion  of  that  church  had  suffered  a  decrease  in 
membership  of  about  fifteen  thousand ;  and  if  we 
were  to  take  into  the  account  the  bitterness  of  feel- 
ing that  took  possession  of  the  hearts  and  minds  of 
many,  both  of  the  ministry  and  laity,  and  the  un- 
happy wrangling  and  controversy  that  ensued,  the 
loss  would  appear  still  greater. 


322  HISTORY    OF    THE 

We  have  mentioned  the  introduction  of  this 
agitating  subject  into  the  General  Conference  of 
183S,  in  order  that  its  progress  may  be  fairly  traced 
in  connection  with  the  M.  P.  Church.  The  con- 
ference regarded  the  subject  as  one  over  which 
they  could  not  take  constitutional  cognizance,  and 
therefore  referred  it  to  the  people,  where  it  more 
properly  belongs,  or  rather  to  the  Annual  Confer- 
ences where  the  subject  in  question  is  immediately 
concerned  Two  new  Annual  Conferences  were 
set  off  by  this  General  Conference,  viz  :  the  Pitts- 
burg and  Illinois  Districts.  The  name  of  the  paper 
conducted  as  the  organ  of  the  church,  and  devoted 
to  its  interests,  was  now  changed  to  that  of  "  The 
Methodist  Protestant  and  Family  Visiter."  As  has 
been  remarked  in  the  preceding  part  of  this  chapter, 
the  increase  of  the  M.  P.  Church  for  the  past  four 
years  had  been  small,  and  from  the  best  calculations 
which  we  are  able  to  make,  it  exceeded  to  some 
extent  2S,000. 

GENERAL    CONFERENCE    OF   1842. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  1842,  the  third  General  Con- 
ference met  in  Baltimore,  and  continued  its  session 
fourteen  days.  There  were  fifty-one  members 
in  attendance  from  the  following  conferences: 

Boston  Conference — Thomas  F.  Norris,  minister. 

Vermont  Conference — Lewis  S.  Fish,  layman. 

New  York  Conference — T.  K.  Witsil,  Enoch  Jacobs,  ministers; 
John  J.  Reed,  layman. 

Champlain  Conference — None  in  attendance. 

Genesee  Conference — A.  Purnell,  minister;  Thomas  Baikley, 
layman- 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH. 


323 


Onondaga  Conference— O.  E.  Bryant,  minister;  L.  B.  Morris, 

layman. 

Pennsylvania  Conference— J.  Smith,  minister. 

Maryland  Conference— Francis  Waters,  A.  Webster,  John  S. 
Reese,  F.  Stier,  James  R.  Williams,  W.  C.  Lipscomb,  William 
H.Bordley,  ministers  ;  William  S.  Stockton,  A.  S.Naudain,  Peter 
Light,  E.  Crutchley,  J.  B.  Thomas,  A.  Waugh,  William  Rusk, 
laymen. 

Virginia  Conference  — John  G.  Whitfield,  minister;  H.  B. 
Wood  house,  layman. 

North  Carolina  Conference  —  Alexander  Albright,  minister ; 
Wilson  C.  Whitaker,  Robert  C.  Rankin,  laymen. 

South  Carolina  Conference— Alexander  McCaine,  minister. 

Georgia  Conference— None  in  attendance. 
'    Alabama    Conference— P.   S.    Graves,   minister;  B.   S.   Bibb, 

layman. 

Tennessee  Conference— None  in  attendance. 

Indiana  Conference— Thomas  Hicklin,  H.  P.  Bennett,  ministers; 
William  Smith,  John  Burton,  laymen. 

Illinois  Conference— William  H.  Collins,  minister. 

Mississippi  Conference— Samuel  Butler,  minister. 

Ohio  Conference— A.  H.  Bassett,  minister;  J.  Whetstone,  D. 
C.  Carson,  laymen. 

Pittsburg  Conference— A.  Shinn,  John  Burns,  G.  Brown,  Z. 
Ragan,  John  Clarke,  jr.,  C.  Springer,  ministers;  Thomas  Freeman, 
J.  Souder,  P.  Lewis,  James  Clark,  laymen. 

Rev.  Asa  Shinn,  of  the  Pittsburg  Conference, 
was  elected  chairman,  and  Rev.  A.  H.  Bassett,  of 
the  Ohio,  and  J.  J.  Reed,  of  the  New  York  Con- 
ference, secretaries. 

A  few  alterations  or  amendments  of  the  Disci- 
pline were  made  at  this  conference,  but  principally 
relating  to  Annual  Conferences,  presidents  of  con- 
ferences, superintendents,  missionaries,  &c,  all  of 
which  may  be   seen  by  comparing  the  edition  of 


324  .HISTORY    OF    THE 

the  Discipline  of  1S42  with  the  preceding  one.  The 
amendments  made  were  such  as  were  suggested  by 
experience,  which  no  doubt  will  tend  to  promote 
the  prosperity  as  well  as  secure  the  harmony  of  the 
church.  At  this  conference  the  brethren  from  the 
north  renewed  the  exciting  subject  of  "abolition," 
which  had  been  introduced  into  the  preceding  Gen- 
eral Conference.  Warm  and  animated  debates 
ensued.  The  abolitionists  were  clamorous  for  the 
conference  to  adopt  some  definite  rule  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery,  declaring  it  sinful  in  all  its 
aspects  and  relations,  while  the  conservatives  or 
moderate  men  of  both  parties  stood  by  the  consti- 
tution, maintaining  the  ground  that  the  General 
Conference  had  no  constitutional  authority  to  legis- 
late upon  moral  subjects — that  the  question  properly 
belonged  to  the  respective  Annual  Conferences 
within  the  limits  of  which  the  institution  of  slavery 
existed.  But  the  more  firm  and  determined  sup- 
porters of  the  south  went  further  in  the  range  of 
their  arguments,  and  appealed  to  holy  writ  in 
vindication  of  the  existence  of  the  institution.  The 
debates  closed  by  the  adoption  of  the  following 
resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  General 
Conference  the  holding  of  slaves  is  not,  under  all 
circumstances,  a  sin  against  God,  yet  in  our  opinion, 
under  some  circumstances,  it  is  sinful,  and  in  such 
cases  should  be  discouraged  by  the  Methodist  Pro- 
testant Church.  This  General  Conference  does  not 
feel  authorized  by  the  constitution  to  legislate  on 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  325 

the  subject  of  slavery;  and  by  a  solemn  vote  we 
present  the  church  our  judgment,  that  the  different 
Annual  Conferences  respectively  should  make  their 
own  regulations  on  this  subject,  so  far  as  authorized 
by  the  constitution." 

This  resolution  did  not  satisfy  the  ultraists  of  the 
north,  nor  was  it  agreeable  to  some  of  the  delegates 
from  the  south,  who  were  opposed  to  intermeddling 
with  ihe  subject,  and  a  protest  bearing  a  few  names 
was  recorded  on  the  journal  against  it. 

At  this  General  Conference  the  periodical  estab- 
lished as  the  organ  of  the  church,  and  called  the 
"Methodist  Protestant  and  Family  Visiter,"  was 
changed  in  name  to  that  of  "  Methodist  Protestant." 
Rev.  E.  Y.  Reese  was  elected  editor,  but  subse- 
quently resigned.  The  services  of  the  Rev.  Au- 
gustus Webster  were  afterwards  secured  by  the 
book  committee,  and  the  editorial  department  of 
the  paper  was  filled  by  him  until  the  sitting  of  the 
General  Conference  of  1846.  During  the  period 
intervening  between  the  General  Conferences  of 
1838  and  1S42,  the  friends  of  the  book  concern 
labored  with  commendable  zeal  to  place  it  upon  a 
safe  and  respectable  footing.  The  financial  condi- 
tion of  the  country  was  such  that  the  demand  for 
books  was  small,  but  their  devotion  to  the  interests 
of  the  church  was  too  great  to  be  foiled  even  under 
the  pressure  of  these  circumstances.  Through 
their  devotion  to  its  interests  the  concern  was  ena- 
bled to  live. 
28 


326  HISTORY    OF   THE 

GENERAL    CONFERENCE    OF   1846. 

The  General  Conference  of  1S4G  met  in  the  city 
of  Cincinnati,  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  May.  It  was 
composed  of  seventy-one  delegates  from  the  follow- 
ing conferences : 

Maine  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Boston  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Vermont  Conference — Ziba  Boyington,  minister. 
New  York  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Champlain  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Onondaga  Conference — Ira  Hogan,  minister. 
Genesee  Conference — S.  M.  Short,  minister. 
Pennsylvania  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
New  Jersey  Conferenee — None  in  attendance. 
Maryland  Conference — F.  Waters,  D.  D.,  E.  Henkle,  J.  S. 
Reese,  L.  R.  Reese,  J.  Varden,   I.  Webster,  U.  Ward,  J.  R. 
Williams,  T.  Simm,  ministers;  W.  Starr,  A.  L.  Withers,  T.  R. 
Brown,  J.  Shriver,  J.  B.  Matthews,  laymen. 

Virginia  Conference — R.  B.  Thompson  and  John  J.  Whitfield, 
ministers. 

North  Carolina  Conference — William  Bellamy,  W.  H.  Wills, 
John  Paris,  ministers;  Spier  Whitaker,  layman. 
South  Carolina  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Alabama  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Huntsville  Conference — Henry  Stilwell,  minister;  H.  R.  Bea- 
ver, layman. 

Mississippi  Conference — Enos  Fletcher,  minister;  N.   White- 
head, layman. 

Louisiana  Conference — Allen  Rushing,  minister. 
Tennessee   Conference — R.   \V.  Morris,  minister;   James   L. 
Armstrong,  layman. 
Arkansas  Conference — None  in  attendance. 
Indiana  Conference— D.  H.  Stephens,  Cyrus  Jeffries,  ministers; 
William  Smith,  layman. 

Illinois  Conference— John  Clarke,  jr.,  W.  H.  Collins,  ministers; 
Joel  Rice,  C.  Rice,  layman. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  327 

Muskingum  Conference — C.  Springer,  Z.  Ragan,  J.  Dalby,  jr., 
J.  Burns,  G.  Claney,  R.  Andrew,  J.  Thrap,  ministers;  J.  Bell.  S. 
Rodman,  W.  B.  Kerlin,  T.  Campbell,  A.  W.  Beatty,  laymen. 

Ohio  Conference— A.  H.  Bassett,  R.  M.  Dalby,  J.  White,  J. 

E.  Wilson,  ministers;  James  Foster,  D.  C.  Carson,  M.  Kennedy, 
laymen. 

Pittsburg  Conference — G.  Brown,  W.  Reeves,  P.  T.  Laishly, 

F.  A.  Davis,  J.  Cord,  ministers;  J.  H.  Deford,  F.  H.  Pierpont,  J. 
W.  Philips,  C.  Craig,  laymen. 

Michigan  Conference — James  Gay,  minister;  H.  Brownson, 
layman. 

The  Rev.  Francis  Waters,  of  the  Maryland  Con- 
ference, was  elected  president,  and  Rev.  James  E. 
Wilson  and  Rev.  A.  H.  Bassett,  of  the  Ohio  Con- 
ference, secretaries. 

At  this  session  of  the  General  Conference  but 
few  alterations  of  the  Discipline  were  made,  and 
those  principally  of  minor  importance.  It  was  be- 
lieved by  that  body  that  but  few  alterations  or 
amendments  were  needful,  and  that  that  period 
was  not  an  auspicious  one  for  effecting  changes. 

A  question  now  came  up  from  the  Maryland 
Conference,  requesting  the  General  Conference  to 
express  its  opinion  upon  the  constitutionality  of  the 
action  of  that  body  (the  Maryland  Conference)  with 
regard  to  the  "Mission  Rule."  The  Annual  Confer- 
ence had  changed  the  St.  John's  Station  in  Baltimore 
into  a  mission,  and  doubts  were  entertained  by 
many  as  to  the  constitutionality  of  the  measure. 
The  General  Conference  declared  the  action  of 
the  Maryland  Conference  in  the  premises  to  be  un- 
constitutional. The  committee  to  whom  the  request 
of  the  Maryland  Annual  Conference  was  referred 


328  HISTORY    OF    THE 

were  divided  in  their  sentiments.  Majority  and 
minority  reports  were  made.  Excited  and  ani- 
mated debates  ensued  upon  proposed  alterations  of 
the  mission  rule.  A  substitute  offered  by  Dr. 
Waters  was  finally  adopted,  which  changes  the 
preceding  rule  in  some  of  its  features,  by  granting 
to  Annual  Conferences  more  discretionary  powers 
than  they  had  heretofore  possessed  with  respect  to 
fields  of  missionary  labor. 

The  abolitionists  also  labored  hard  to  get  some 
rule  adopted  by  the  General  Conference  upon  the 
subject  of  slavery.  Various  resolutions,  amend- 
ments and  substitutes  were  offered.  Highly  ex- 
cited debates  ensued  ;  the  speakers  being  princi- 
pally the  ultraists  and  conservatives  of  the  north. 
The  former  insisting  upon  the  right  and  propriety 
of  the  General  Conference  in  taking  action  in  the 
premises  or  of  expressing  an  opinion  thereon ;  the 
latter  took  the  ground  that  the  General  Conference 
had  no  constitutional  right  to  meddle  with  the  sub- 
ject ;  that  it  legitimately  belonged  to  the  respective 
Annual  Conferences  where  it  existed,  and  that  the 
General  Conference  had  no  right  to  trammel  their 
action  by  the  expression  of  an  opinion  in  its  legisla- 
tive capacity.  The  following  resolution,  offered 
by  Dr.  J.  S.  Reese,  was  adopted,  after  one  or  two 
others  had  been  laid  on  the  table,  and  another  one 
read  and  withdrawn : 

"  Resolved,  that  in  the  judgment  of  this  General 
Conference  the  holding  of  slaves  is,  under  many 
circumstances,  a -sin  against  God,  and  in  such  cases 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  329 

should  be  condemned  by  the  Methodist  Protestant 
Church ;  nevertheless,  it  is  our  opinion  that  under 
some  circumstances  it  is  not  sinful.  This  General 
Conference  does  not  feel  authorized  by  the  consti- 
tution to  legislate  on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  by 
a  solemn  vote  we  present  to  the  church  our  judg- 
ment that  the  different  Annual  Conferences,  respect- 
ively, should  make  their  own  regulations  on  this 
subject,  so  far  as  authorized  by  the  Constitution." 

Some  of  the  delegates  from  the  south  protested 
against  being  called  upon  to  vote  on  this  subject ; 
the  yeas  and  nays  having  been  demanded,  upon 
the  call  of  each  name  by  the  secretary,  those  who 
protested  against  the  action  in  the  premises  gave 
their  reasons  for  their  vote  as  they  saw  proper  under 
the  circumstances. 

A  favorable  report  of  the  financial  condition  of 
the  book  concern  and  church  paper  was  made  by 
the  book  committee.  The  Rev.  E.  Y.  Reese  was 
elected  editor  of  the  "  Methodist  Protestant "  and 
book  agent  for  the  ensuing  four  years.  The  salary 
of  the  editor  it  was  resolved  should  be  not  less  than 
nine  hundred  dollars  ;  and  he  was  allowed  to  have 
the  assistance  of  a  clerk  appointed  by  the  book  com- 
mittee, whose  salary  and  duties  are  to  be  prescribed 
by  the  board. 

As  we  have  not  at  hand  the  report  of  the  book 
committee  to  the  General  Conference,  we  shall 
here  introduce  the  report  of  that  committee  to  the 
last  session  of  the  Maryland  Annual  Conference, 
held  March,  1849.  The  book  concern  being  located 
28* 


330  HISTORY    OF   THE 

within  the  bounds  of  that  conference,  the  commit- 
tee are  required  to  report  annually  to  that  body,  as 
well  as  to  each  session  of  the  General  Conference. 

REPORT  OF  THE  DIRECTORS  OF  THE  BOOK  CONCERN. 

To  the  president  and  members  of  the  Maryland  Annual 
Conference,  in  conference  assembled. 

Beloved  Brethren, — The  directors  of  the  Meth- 
odist Protestant  Church  Book  Concern,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  requirements  of  the  Discipline,  take 
occasion  to  present  to  the  Maryland  Annual  Con- 
ference, now  in  session  in  Alexandria,  their  report 
of  proceedings  for  the  past  conference  year,  together 
with  a  statement  showing  the  true  condition  of  the 
concern  at  the  present  time. 

By  a  reference  to  the  report  of  the  directors, 
rendered  to  the  last  session  of  the  conference,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  concern  was  then  worth 
$4,129  76  ;  the  present  report  will  show  that,  by 
the  assistance  of  kind  friends  and  a  successful  busi- 
ness during  the  year,  the  concern  has  nearly 
doubled  its  value,  and  is  now  worth  $8,250  32. 
In  our  last  report  we  informed  the  conference  that 
we  had  decided  on  stereot}?ping  the  hymn  book. 
This  has  been  accomplished  at  a  cost  of  four  hun- 
dred dollars,  and  will  save  the  expense  of  composi- 
tion in  all  future  editions  for  at  least  twenty  years 
to  come.  The  first  edition  worked  off"  from  the 
plates  numbered  3,000  copies,  of  which  we  have 
sold  2,200,  in  addition  to  700  which  were  on  hand 
at  the  date  of  our  last  report,  making  in  all  2,900 
copies. 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  331 

Of  the  Discipline  there  have  been  sold  2,300 
copies,  and  of  Clarke's  Commentary  56.  sets.  Were 
our  friends  to  purchase  this  work  freely,  its  sales 
would  greatly  advance  the  pecuniary  interests  of 
the  church;  for  although  we  furnish  the  work  at  a 
much  lower  price  than  that  at  which  any  similar 
work  can  be  purchased  in  the  United  States,  it  nev- 
ertheless yields  a  handsome  profit.  The  whole 
amount  of  books  sold  during  the  conference  year 
was  $4,005  89;  of  this  a  large  proportion  remains 
uncollected,  but  it  is  a  favorable  indication  that 
our  receipts  on  account  of  book  debts  during  the 
year  amount  to  $3,972.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  year  our  ledger  showed  an  indebtedness  to 
the  concern  of  about  $3,000,  after  making  due  allow- 
ances for  losses;  and  at  the  present  about  the  same 
amount,  with  equal  allowance,  is  due  us;  so  that 
our  receipts  on  book  accounts  the  present  year  are 
equal,  within  a  fraction,  to  the  amount  of  sales 
effected.  But  we  do  not  say  this  in  justification  of 
those  who  are  culpably  negligent. 

The  financial  condition  of  the  paper  is  still  im- 
proving, but  less  rapidly  than  could  be  desired. 
At  the  last  report  there  were  2,800  subscribers  on 
the  list,  of  whom  we  have  been  compelled  to  erase 
the  names  of  several  hundred  for  non-payment; 
but  by  the  addition  of  new  subscribers  the  present 
list  is  within  a  fraction  of  3,000. 

The  total  receipts  during  the  past  year  on  the 
paper,  including  old  dues,  are  $4,195  28;  on  the 
present  (15th)  volume  the  receipts  have  been  light, 


332  HISTORY    OF    THE 

only  $1,753.  It  is  hoped,  however,  that  as  in  for- 
mer cases,  the  close  of  the  year  will  bring  up  the 
deficiency. 

The  expenses  for  publishing  the  paper  are  about 
the  same  as  for  the  preceding  volume,  say  $3,500. 
The  profits  on  the  present  volume,  it  is  thought, 
will  be  in  the  neighborhood  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
On  volume  14th  the  collections  have  covered  the 
entire  expense  of  its  publication,  so  that  payments 
hereafter  on  that  volume  and  all  preceding  volumes, 
will  be  placed  among  the  actual*  profits  of  the 
concern. 

ASSETS. 

The  stereotyped  plates  were  passed  into  our  hands  at  an 

estimated  value  of $5,150  00 

Hymn  Book  plates  cost 400  00 

Stock  in  hand,  valued  at 2,250  00 

Due  by  present  subscribers  to  Methodist  Protestant  to  the 

end  of  present  volume,  after  deductions  for  bad  debts,    4,100  00 

Discontinued  subscribers, 700  00 

Collectable  book  debts, 3,000  00 

Cash  on  hand, 241  00 


$15,841  00 


LIABILITIES. 

Mortgage  to  S.  A.  F.  S.  of  Maryland  Conference,     .       $1 ,800  00 
Notes  payable  in  redemption  of  scrip,  .         .         .     1,636  68 

Sundry  debls, 1,900  00 

Phebean  Society, 800  00 

Interest  to  Phebean  Society,  .....  54  00 

Estimated  expense  of  publishing  Methodist  Protestant  to 

end  of  present  volume,  including  half  of  salaries  and  rent,  1,400  00 

$7,590  68 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  333 

ASSETS    AND    LIABILITIES. 

Assets, $15,841  00 

Liabilities, 7,590  68 

Present  worth  of  the  concern  at  the  former  estimated        ■ 

value  of  the  plates^      ......  $8,250  32 

It  will  be  recollected  that  in  our  last  report  to  the 
conference  there  were  sixty-eight  shares  of  church 
scrip  remaining  unredeemed,  amounting  to  $3,400. 
We  now  purpose  to  inform  the  conference  how  the 
principal  and  interest  of  ihose  shares  of  scrip  have 
been  disposed  of.  Sixteen  shares  ($S00),  held  by 
the  Phebean  Society,  remain  in  possession  of  that 
society,  and  the  interest  paid  annually.  Sixteen 
shares  ($800),  held  by  the  S.  A.  F.  Society  have 
been  canceled  in  the  following  manner:  the  mana- 
gers of  that  society  have  relinquished  the  interest, 
and  have  taken  a  lien  on  the  property  of  the  book 
concern  for  the  principle,  together  with  $1,000  due 
by  the  concern  to  W.  Starr,  which  he  assigned  as  a 
donation  to  said  society,  it  being  part  of  a  loan  of 
$1,700  made  by  him  two  years  ago,  to  enable  the 
book  committee  to  publish  an  edition  of  Clarke's 
Commentary.  The  payment  of  the  whole  $1,800 
to  be  made  by  installments  of  $200  per  annum, 
commencing  on  the  first  day  of  December,  1S51, 
with  interest  from  that  date  until  the  whole  shall 
have  been  paid.  Twenty-eight  shares  ($1,400), 
held  by  Wesley  Starr,  have  been  canceled  in  the 
following  manner :  He  relinquished  or  gave  to  the 
concern  the  interest  due,  $805;  he  also  gave  to  the 
concern  $350,  which  was  due  to  him,  and  received 


334  HISTORY    OF   THE 

from  the  committee  their  notes  for  the  balance, 
$1,050,  with  interest  till  paid.  The  same  brother 
gave  to  the  concern  $350  of  the  amount  loaned  by 
him  to  publish  Clarke's  Commentary,  subject,  how- 
ever, to  the  annual  payment  during  his  lifetime  of 
$20  for  the  benefit  of  the  West  Baltimore  Station 
Sabbath  School.  Four  shares  ($200),  held  by  Ed- 
ward Green,  were  purchased  by  the  concern  for 
$145,  and  he  relinquished  or  gave  the  interest  due 
to  the  church.  Four  shares  ($200),  held  by  William 
Savory's  heirs,  were  purchased  by  the  concern  for 
$200,  and  they  relinquished  the  interest. 

By  the  above  statement  the  conference  will  per- 
ceive: 1st,  That  all  the  interest  due  on  the  scrip, 
amounting  to  the  sum  of  $1,300,  has  been  relin- 
quished to  the  church,  and  thus  a  heavy  item  of 
liability  is  for  ever  removed  from  the  debtor  side  of 
our  annual  account.  2d,  That  the  certificates  of 
stock  issued  by  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  in 
1839,  except  the  few  held  by  the  Phebean  Society, 
have  been  canceled;  and  3d,  That  the  debt  on 
scrip  has  been  so  arranged  by  notes  as  to  give  the 
concern  ample  time  to  pay  it,  without  embarrassing 
it  in  its  other  operations. 

In  connection  with  the  above  statement,  the 
directors  take  pleasure  in  acknowleding  the  receipt 
of  a  donation  of  $500,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Mary- 
land Annual  Conference,  from  a  young  lady  who  is 
a  member  of  our  church,  and  who  on  a  former 
occasion  bestowed  a  gratuity  of  $1,000  to  the  con- 
cern subject  to  the  annual  payment  of  $60  worth 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  335 

of  religious  books.  The  conditions  of  the  recent 
gratuity  are:  the  directors  of  the  book  concern  are 
to  distribute  annually  to  the  itinerant  preachers  of 
the  Maryland  Annual  Conference,  thirty  dollars 
worth  of  suitable  books,  so  as  to  meet  the  neces- 
sities of  young  men  in  the  ministry,  who  may  be 
unable  to  purchase  them.  She  also  assigns  to  the 
directors  the  right  to  distribute  $30  worth  additional, 
to  be  charged  to  the  account  of  $60  per  annum, 
(life  annuity,)  to  which  she  was  entitled  for  the  for- 
mer donation.  Should  the  concern  at  any  future 
time  prefer  to  return  the  $500  to  stop  the  annuity, 
they  are  authorized  to  pay  the  sum  to  the  managers 
of  the  S.  A.  F.  Society. 

Dear  brethren,  permit  us  to  conclude  our  report 
by  an  appeal  to  the  good  sense  and  benevolent 
feelings  of  the  ministers  and  members  of  the  Mary- 
land Conference  and  those  of  the  thirty-two  Annual 
Conferences  of  the  M.  P.  Church.  Does  it  not 
appear  to  you,  brethren,  that  so  numerous  a  body 
of  ministers  and  members,  most  of  whom  have 
means  and  opportunities  to  do  much  good,  have 
done  exceedingly  Utile  towards  the  establishment 
of  a  concern,  the  avowed  design  of  which  is,  by  the 
sale  of  books  and  the  publication  of  a  religious  paper, 
to  obtain  annually  a  sum  sufficiently  respectable  to 
distribute  to  each  of  the  Annual  Conferences  at 
least  one  hundred  dollars,  to  aid  in  making  up  de- 
ficiencies among  the  itinerant  brethren  who  have 
not  received  the  whole  amount  of  their  limited 
allowances  ? 


336  HISTORY    OF    THE 

The  book  concern  has  been  in  operation  for  ten 
years,  under  the  direction  of  attentive,  laborious 
men,  whose  services  have  been  yielded  gratuitously, 
and  lo !  such  has  been  the  apathy  of  the  church, 
generally,  that  the  concern  just  now  begins  to  show 
signs  of  life  and  promises  of  future  usefulness.  Out 
of  thirty-two  conference  districts  we  have  at  length 
obtained  within  a  fraction  of  3,000  subscribers, 
which  is  less  than  an  average  of  100  to  each  dis- 
trict,  when,  to  speak  within  the  bounds  of  modera- 
tion, the  average  ought  to  be  at  least  500  to  each 
district.  During  the  past  year  we  have  sold  about 
$4,000  worth  of  books,  an  average  less  than  $130 
to  each  district,  when  any  impartial  man  will  say 
that  five  times  the  amount  ought  to  have  been  pur- 
chased, especially  as  the  profits  are  designed  to 
benefit  the  purchasers,  by  aiding  them  to  make  up 
deficiencies  in  their  own  conferences.  Can  we  not 
do  better  than  we  have  done?  or  shall  the  same 
apathy  which  has  benumbed  and  retarded  the  ad* 
vancement  of  our  little  concern  for  so  many  years 
continue  to  arrest  our  progress  and  keep  us  down, 
until  we  become  a  reproach  and  a  by-word  among 
the  thousands  of  Israel  ? 

Again,  dear  brethren,  does  it  not  appear  to  you 
to  be  a  burning  shame  that  the  subscribers  and  the 
purchasers  of  books  should  retain  in  their  own 
hands  nearly  $7,000  which  are  justly  due  to  the 
concern  ?  The  directors  tell  you  that  the  concern 
is  worth  $8,250,  but  alas  !  almost  the  whole  amount 
is  away  in  the  hands  of  their  customers,  and  the 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  337 

directors  and  agent  left  without  means  to  pay  off 
the  printer  and  paper-maker.  Do  we  not  appear 
to  you  very  much  like  certain  rich  men  who  have 
their  thousands  on  paper,  but  have  not  money  to 
buy  their  marketing?  And  does  not  the  conduct 
of  the  whole  church  resemble  the  parent  who  pro- 
fesses great  affection  for  the  child,  but  denies  it 
food  and  raiment? 

It  would  encourage  us  who  hold  the  laboring  oar 
greatly  if  we  could  bring  the  ministry  and  member- 
ship to  make  suitable  efforts  towards  carrying  the 
concern  up  to  a  point  whence  it  may  be  able  to 
furnish  the  help  designed  by  its  founders  and  origina- 
tors. Come,  brethren,  let  us  try  if  we  cannot,  during 
the  coming  year,  greatly  increase  the  subscription 
list,  and  further  the  sale  of  our  church  books. 

The  session  of  the  General  Conference  is  now  at 
hand,  to  which  body  the  directors  of  the  book  con- 
cern are  required  to  give  "  a  full  and  particular 
account  of  all  matters  and  things  connected  with 
the  church  book  concern."  It  would  be  very 
pleasant  to  all  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  exhibit 
the  concern  in  a  healthy  and  prosperous  condition. 
Nothing  can  prevent  so  desirable  a  result  but  negli- 
gence on  the  part  of  the  church.  The  brethren 
will  doubtless  excuse  our  great  plainness  in  the 
preceding  remarks  when  they  take  into  view  our 
anxiety  to  make  the  concern  efficient  in  the  secure- 
ment  of  the  great  objects  of  its  institution.  All  of 
which  is  respectfully  submitted  by  the  directory. 
James  R.  Williams,  President. 
29 


338  HISTORY    OP    THE 

BOUNDARIES  OF  THE  ANNUAL  CONFERENCES. 

The  General  Conference  of  1846  recognized  the 
following  twenty-nine  Annual  Conference  Districts, 
their  boundaries  being  as  follow: 

Maine  District  includes  all  the  State  of  Maine. 

Boston  District  includes  all  the  States  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, Rhode  Island  and  New  Hampshire. 

Vermont  District  commences  at  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  State  of  Vermont,  and  runs  thence, 
westwardly,  to  Lansingburg,  on  the  North  river 
(leaving  that  town  in  the  New  York  District) ; 
thence,  westwardly,  to  the  south-west  corner  of 
Montgomery  and  Fulton  counties  ;  thence,  from  the 
north-west  corner  of  Fulton  county,  eastwardly, 
opposite  the  towns  of  Athol  and  Johnsburg,  as  far 
north  as  the  south  line  of  Elizabethtown  ;  thence, 
eastwardly,  along  the  south  line  of  Elizabethtown  to 
lake  Champlain ;  thence  down  the  lake  to  the  Canada 
line ;  thence  to  the  north-west  corner  of  New 
Hampshire  ;  and  thence  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

New  York  District  includes  the  State  of  Con- 
necticut, and  that  part  of  the  State  of  New  York 
lying  south-east  of  a  line  beginning  at  the  north- 
west corner  of  Montgomery  county;  thence,  east- 
wardly, to  Lansingburg,  on  the  North  river,  in- 
cluding that  town ;  thence,  south,  by  said  river,  to 
Troy;  and  thence,  eastwardly,  to  the  north-west 
corner  of  Massachusetts,  including  Long  and  Staten 
islands. 

Onondaga  District  commences  at  the  point 
where    the    old    pre-emption    line  intersects"  Lake 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  339 

Ontario,  and  runs  thence,  southwardly,  bounding 
on  the  Genesee  District,  to  the  line  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania District;  thence,  along  said  line,  so  far  as  to 
embrace  Cherry  Valley  and  Westford  Circuits,  and 
all  the  territory  west  and  south  of  the  county  of  St. 
Lawrence  (with  the  exception  of  Twin  Circuit); 
thence,  in  a  north-westwardly  direction,  to  the 
Oswego  river ;  and  thence,  by  lake  Ontario,  to  the 
place  of  beginning. 

Genesee  District  commences  at  the  point 
where  the  old  pre-emption  line  intersects  Lake 
Ontario,  and  runs  thence  in  a  direct  line  to  the 
foot  of  Seneca  lake  ;  thence,  up  the  middle  of  said 
lake,  to  the  line  of  Pennsylvania  District ;  thence, 
west,  to  the  north-west  corner  of  said  district ; 
thence,  south,  to  the  southern  boundary  line  of  the 
State  of  New  York ;  thence,  by  said  State  line,  to 
Lake  Erie  ;  and  thence,  by  said  lake,  the  Niagara 
river,  and  Lake  Ontario,  to  the  place  of  beginning 

Michigan  District  includes  the  State  of  Michi- 
gan and  the  northern  tier  of  counties  in  the  State 
of  Indiana. 

Indiana  District  includes  all  the  State  of  In- 
diana, except  the  part  embraced  in  the  Michigan 
District. 

Illinois  District  commences  at  the  north  line 
of  Township  No.  4,  on  the  Mississippi  river,  north 
of  the  base  line,  running  due  east  to  the  Indiana 
line ;  embracing  all  the  southern  part  of  the  State 
and  all  that  part  of  Missouri  not  included  in  the 
Arkansas  District. 


340  HISTORY    OP    THE 

North  Illinois  District  embraces  all  that  por- 
tion of  the  State  of  Illinois  not  included  in  Illinois 
District  and  the  territory  of  Wisconsin. 

Iowa  District  includes  all  the  territory  of  Iowa 
west  of  the  Mississippi  river,  and  north  of  the 
States  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas. 

Ohio  District  includes  that  part  of  the  State  of 
Ohio  lying  west  of  the  Sciota  and  Sandusky  rivers, 
excepting  the  counties  of  Crawford,  Seneca,  San- 
dusky and  Wyandott. 

Muskingum  District  includes  all  that  part  of  the 
State  of  Ohio  not  included  in  the  Ohio  District. 

Pittsburg  District  includes  that  portion  of  the 
States  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  lying  west  of 
the  Allegany  mountains. 

New  Jersey  District  includes  the  State  of  N. 
Jersey. 

Pennsylvania  District  begins  at  the  junction 
of  the  Lehigh  and  Delaware  rivers  and  runs  thence 

O 

by  a  direct  line  to  Harrisburg  (including  that  city); 
thence  by  the  Susquehanna  river  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Juniata;  thence  up  the  Juniata  to  the  dividing 
line  of  Mifflin  and  Huntingdon  counties;  thence  by 
a  direct  line  due  north  into  Allegany  county,  N.  Y., 
so  far  as  to  embrace  Broome  county  by  a  line  due 
east;  thence  by  the  north-east  and  east  lines  of 
Broome  county  to  the  Delaware,  and  thence  by 
said  river  to  the  place  of  beginning. 

Maryland  District  includes  all  the  State  of 
Maryland  and  that  part  of  Virginia  not  included  in 
the  Virginia  District;  the  State  of  Delaware,  and 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  341 

all  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  west  of  the  Susque- 
hanna river  not  included  in  the  Pittsburg  District. 

Virginia  District  includes  all  the  State  of  Vir- 
ginia not  included  within  the  Maryland  and  Pitts- 
burg Districts. 

North  Carolina  District  includes  the  State  of 
North  Carolina. 

South  Carolina  District  includes  the  State  of 
South  Carolina. 

Georgia  District  includes  all  the  State  of 
Georgia,  except  the  counties  of  Decatur,  Thomas, 
Lowndes,  Ware  and  Camden. 

Florida  District  includes  all  that  part  of 
Florida  east  of  the  Apalachicola  river;  and  that 
part  of  Georgia  not  included  in  the  Georgia  District. 

Alabama  District  includes  that  part  of  Ala- 
bama not  included  in  the  Huntsville  District,  and 
that  part  of  Florida  west  of  Apalachicola  river. 

Tennessee  District  includes  all  that  part  of 
Tennessee  not  included  in  the  Huntsville  District, 
and  the  State  of  Kentucky. 

Huntsville  District  commences  at  the  south- 
western corner  of  Lafayette  county,  Alabama,  and 
runs  eastward  with  the  lines  of  Lafayette  and 
Walker  counties  to  the  Black  Warrior  river;  thence 
down  said  river  to  the  south-western  corner  of 
Jefferson  county;  thence  in  a  direct  line  across 
Shelby  county  to  the  south-west  corner  of  Talla- 
dega county;  thence  eastward  with  the  southern 
boundary  line  of  Talladega  and  Randolph  counties 
to  the  State  of  Georgia;  thence  northward  with  the 
29* 


342  HISTORY    OF    THE 

state  line  to  the  State  of  Tennessee;  thence  in  a 
direct  line  to  the  nearest  point  of  the  Cumberland 
mountain,  on  the  north  side  of  Tennessee  river; 
thence  in  such  direction  to  the  mouth  of  Cedar 
creek,  in  Perry  county,  as  may  be  necessary  to 
comprise  all  the  country  situated  on  the  waters  of 
Tennessee  river,  on  the  north  side  thereof,  between 
the  two  points  last  designated,  and  all  the  country 
situated  on  the  waters  of  Buffalo  river  above  the 
mouth  of  Sinking  creek,  in  Perry  county;  thence 
up  Tennessee  river  (from  the  mouth  of  Cedar 
creek)  to  the  line  of  the  State  of  Alabama;  thence 
southward  with  the  said  line  of  Alabama  to  the 
beginning. 

Mississippi  District  includes  the  State  of 
Mississippi. 

Louisiana  District  includes  the  States  of 
Louisiana  and  Texas. 

Arkansas  District  includes  the  State  of  Ar- 
kansas. 

Philadelphia  District  includes  all  that  part  of 
the  state  of  Pennsylvania  east  of  the  Susquehanna 
river  (except  Hummelstown  Mission,)  not  included 
in  the  Pennsylvania  District. 

Two  other  Annual  Conferences,  viz:  the  Texas 
and  Missouri,  had  been  organized  prior  to  the  sit- 
ting of  the  General  Conference  of  1846,  but  the  evi- 
dence of  their  organization  failed  to  reach  the  Gen- 
eral Conference,  from  some  unforeseen  cause,  con- 
sequently their  names  and  boundaries  do  not  yet 
appear   in   the   book   of  Discipline.      Since   then 


METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  343 

another,  the  Wabash  Conference,  has  been  organ- 
ized, making  in  all  thirty-two  Annual  Conferences 
in  the  Methodist  Protestant  communion. 

STATISTICS    OF    THE    CHURCH. 

The  following  table  of  statistics  is  taken  in  part 
from  the  reported  or  published  minutes  of  confer- 
ences about  the  close  of  the  year  1S4S  and  the  be- 
ginning of  1849.  For  want  of  later  items  of  intelli- 
gence with  regard  to  some  of  the  conferences,  we 
have  had  to  copy  from  their  minutes  published  one 
and  two  years  ago.  Consequently  the  total  numer- 
ical strength  of  the  church,  as  summed  up  in  the 
table,  no  doubt  falls  considerably  below  the  true  or 
actual  numbers. 

There  is  a  rule  of  Discipline,  found  on  page  53, 
section  23d,  which  requires  that  "  each  Annual 
Conference  shall  publish  its  minutes,  containing,  1. 
A  list  of  all  the  appointments  for  the  ensuing  3?ear. 
2.  A  complete  list  of  all  the  stationed  and  unsta- 
tioned  ministers  and  preachers  within  the  district, 
and  those  who  are  superannuated.  3.  The  names  of 
those  ministers  and  preachers  who  have  deceased, 
withdrawn,  or  been  expelled.  4.  The  general  ex- 
hibit of  the  conference  steward.  5.  The  number 
of  members,  including  ministers  and  preachers.  6. 
The  time  and  place  of  holding  the  next  Annual 
Conference;  and  the  number  of  houses  of  worship 
belonging  to  the  district."  But  we  regret  that  some 
of  the  Annual  Conferences  have  so  overlooked  this 
rule,  that  our  statistical  table  is  rendered  meagre. 


344 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


STATISTICAL   TABLE. 


ANNUAL  CONFERENCES 


a 


00  00     00 

£  »  US  2 

.2-0 

—     C 
00     CO 

si 


cO* 


]VIaryland,  .   .  . 
Virginia,    .   .  . 
North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina, 
Georgia,   .  .  .  . 

Florida, 

Alabama,     .  .  . 
Mississippi,  .  . 
Louisiana,  .  .  . 
Texas,    .... 
Arkansas,    .  .  . 
Missouri,  .  .  . 
Huntsville,    .   . 
Tennessee,  .  . 
Illinois,     .   .  .  . 
North  Illinois, 
Iowa,     ..... 
Michigan,     .   . 
Wabash,  .... 
Indiana,     .  .  .  , 

Ohio, 

Muskingum,  .  , 
Pittsburg,  .  .  . 
Pennsylvania,  . 
Philadelphia,  . 
Genesee,  .  .  .  , 
Onondaga,  .  .  . 
New  York,  .  .  . 
New  Jersey,  . 
Boston,  .... 
Vermont,  .  .  . 
Maine,  .... 


3 
4 

8 

10 
1 


12 
1 


29 
12 
10 

3 
10 

2 
13 

5 


4 

•7 
6 
9 

29 
9 
4 

1(3 
9 

1U 
IS 
32 
29 


56 
25 
26 
13 
34 

9 
28 
23 

9 
12 
13 
15 
22 
25 
26 
28 
11 
29 
23 
17 
44 
60 
50 
12 
10 
23 
23 
31 
10 
17 
16 
11 


67 

24 

11 

26 

3 

26 

15 

1 

3 

13 

14 
33 
40 
26 
10 
30 
15 
23 
51 
82 
63 
9 
6 
12 
32 

9 

5 

11 

17 


67  |356 


81  761 


677 


6,500 
3,000 
4,030 
1,778 
2,004 

710 
4,282 
1,096 

584 

500 

733 

500 

876 
1,382  36 
1,995  13 

944  5 

380 
1,680  3 
1,210  5 
1,471  20 
4,319!  67 
5,819419 
5,799   55 

520     5 
1,300 
1,009 
1,296 
1,409' 

844! 

7001 

700: 

5351 


59,905,662 


*  METHODIST    PROTESTANT    CHURCH.  345 

'CONCLUDING    REMARKS. 

The  progress  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church 
has  been  onward.  Prosperity  has  marked  her 
course.  Truly  the  Lord  has  done  great  things  for 
her,  whereof  we  are  glad.  In  the  preceding  pages 
we  have  brought  to  view  the  untoward  circum- 
stances that  gave  birth  to  her  organization — we 
have  noticed  the  character  of  the  persecutions  got- 
ten up  by  men  in  high  places  against  those  called 
"  reformers,"  and  we  have  watched  those  perse- 
cuted few  who  nobly  refused  to  abandon  their  princi- 
ples of  ecclesiastical  polity.,  and  thereby  admit  and 
acknowledge  the  exclusive  claims  of  itinerant  cler- 
ical supremacy — we  saw  them,  when  cast  out  of 
the  church  of  their  first  love,  rally  together  and 
unite  themselves  in  a  bond  of  Christian  brother- 
hood under  the  banners  of  mutual  rights.  And 
though  their  organizations  were  "few  and  far  bo 
tween"  yet  tracing  their  history  we  find  that  in 
twenty  years  this  little  company  has  become  a 
great  army.  The  principles  of  reform  have  out- 
lived the  war  of  persecution  that  once'  so  madly 
raged.  There  have  been  a  few  of  the  ministry  of 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  who  have  talked 
and  written  of  "  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church 
being  a  failure,"  that  "  the  cause  was  going  down," 
&c.  But  her  failure  (if  it  be  called  such)  consists 
in  the  onward  march  of  her  principles,  a  rapid  in- 
crease of  membership,  and  the  influence  and  use- 
fulness of  her  ministry.     And   as  to   "  the  cause 


346  HISTORY    OF    THE 

going  down,"  we  would  remark,  in  the  language  of 
the  Rev.  Asa  Shinn,  who,  having  heard  such  a  re- 
mark made  upon  a  certain  occasion,  replied,  ;'  'Tis 
true  it  is  going  down,  but,  like  the  beautiful  Ohio 
river,  the  further  it  goes  the  deeper  and  broader  it 
becomes." 

The  Methodist  Protestant  Church  is  one  of  the 
fairest  of  the  dau^htei-s  of  Zion.  Her  Constitution 
and  Discipline  secure  to  her  ministry  and  member- 
ship mutual  rights,  and  justly  challenge  the  admira- 
tion of  the  world  as  a  system  of  ecclesiastical  polity. 
Her  principles  have  been  spreading  and  continue 
to  spread.  Christian  people,  becoming  tired  of 
itinerant  supremacy,  are  throwing  off  such  author- 
ity; and,  resolved  to  think  for  themselves,  are  call- 
ing for  the  ministry  and  discipline  of  the  M.  P. 
Church.  Very  recently  such  calls  have  been  made 
from  the  cities  of  New  Orleans  and  Mobile ;  and 
within  the  last  year  large  secessions  from  the  M.  E. 
Church  have  taken  place  in  the  western  part  of 
North  Carolina,  and  flocking  to  the  standard  of  the 
M.  P.  Church  have  organized  themselves  under  her 
discipline.  For  these  things  and  such  as  these 
some  of  the  votaries  of  itinerant  clerical  supremacy 
in  the  former  church  take  umbrage  at  the  last  men- 
tioned  church.  It  was  but  a  few  years  ago  that  one 
of  the  ministers  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  North  Car- 
olina, speaking  of  the  M.  P.  Church,  declared  over 
his  own  signature  that  "she  was  like  the  vulture  that 
preyed  upon  the  carcases  of  its  ovm  murdered  victims  ;" 
and  "like  the  wandering  gipsey  who  refused  to  bring 


METHODIST    TROTESTANT    CHURCH.  347 

up  her  own  natural  offspring,  she  seizes  upon  every 
straggling  child  upon  which  she  can  lay  her  hands, 
and  bears  it  off  to  make  it  the  dupe  of  her  own  base 
impositions.''''  * 

Alas !  alas !  what  had  become  of  that  charity 
which  hopeth  all  things  when  this  teacher  of  the 
religion  of  Jesus  penned  the  preceding  sentences ! 
But  thank  God  we  are  happ}^  to  record  that  only  a 
few  of  the  ministry  of  the  M.  E.  Church  so  far  forget 
their  calling  and  profession  as  to  exhibit  such  a 
spirit,  or  breathe  such  sentiments  towards  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church. 

It  is  not  necessary  for  us  to  declare  the  foregoing 

*  Bigotry  often  sways  the  feelings  of  Methodists,  as  well  as  of 
other  people,  although  Mr.  Fletcher  has  said,  "  bigots  are  religious 
savages."  Upon  a  certain  occasion,  a  popular  minister  of  the 
Methodist  Protestant  Church,  traveling  through  a  part  of  the 
country  where  he  was  but  little  known,  called  in  a  country  village 
and  was  invited  by  a  friend  to  preach  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  at  night.  The  invitation  was  accepted.  An  old  side 
brother,  who  was  in  the  habit  of  giving  utterance  to  his  feelings 
under  the  preaching  of  the  word,  but  not  much  distinguished  for 
his  charity  towards  Methodist  Protestants,  "  shouted  aloud  "  in 
the  congregation  during  the  sermon.  On  the  next  day,  meeting 
with  a  friend,  he  inquired  "who  the  minister  was,"  with  whom 
he  had  been  so  much  delighted  the  preceding  evening.  On  being 
told  that  he  was  a  minister  of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church, 
he  exclaimed,  "Well,  if  I  had  known  that,  I  would  not  have 
shouted  last  night!" 

We  relate  these  things  not  for  the  disparagement  of  the  M.  E. 
Church,  but  to  afford  a  glance  at  the  opposition  that  is  sometimes 
exhibited  by  a  few,  within  the  pale  of  that  communion,  to  the  M. 
P.  Church,  and  that,  too,  for  an  honest  difference  of  opinion  about 
church  polity. 


348 


HISTORY    OF    THE 


assertions  which  we  have  quoted,  to  be  destitute  of 
truth  or  the  least  semblance  of  truth;  for  history, 
observation,  and  facts  all  combine  to  contradict 
such  assertions,  and  demonstrate  to  the  world  the 
entire  vanity  of  all  such  declarations.  And  throwing 
the  mantle  of  charity  over  all  such  men,  the  very 
best,  as  well  as  the  mildest  conclusion  at  which  we 
can  arrive,  is  simply  this,  that  they  are  ignorant  of 
the  things  whereof  they  write  or  speak. 

Of  the  labor,  zeal  and  usefulness  of  the  ministry 
of  the  M.  P.  Church .jwe  leave  the  world  to  judge. 
Their  efforts  to  promote  the  advancement  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom,  by  winning  souls  to  Jesus, 
have  been  abundantly  owned  and  blessed  of  God. 
Extensive  and  glorious  revivals  of  religion  have 
crowned  their  labors  in  almost  every  part  of  the 
United  States  where  their  efforts  have  been 
directed.  Believers  have  been  edified  and  the 
church  built  up  and  strengthened.  They  inculcate 
the  doctrines  of  free  grace,  and  teach  that  "  holi- 
ness without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord." 
Zealously  enforcing  these  principles,  and  firmly 
adhering  to  the  Constitution  and  Discipline  of  the 
church,  they  can,  they  will  succeed. 

Thus  far  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church  has 
been  abundantly  blessed  of  God.  May  she  ever 
be  watered  with  the  dews  of  heavenly  grace,  be 
instrumental  in  guiding  millions  of  happy  spirits 
to  heaven,  until  this  lovely  daughter  of  Zion 
shall  prove  a  praise  and  a  blessing  in  the  whole 
earth.     Amen. 


APPENDIX. 


CONTAINING  A  REVIEW  OF  THE  ORGANIZATION   OF  THE  METHODIST 

EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  EP1SCOFACY, 

AND  THE  EXCLUSION  OF  THE  LAITY  FROM  THE| 

COUNCILS   OF  THE  CHURCH. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Episcopacy. — Ordination  among  Methodist  Preachers  in  Virginia  in 
1779. — Letter  of  Mr.  Wesley  to  the  American  Methodists,  dated 
September  10th,  1784. — Remarks  upon  the  preceding  letter. — Dr. 
Coke's  letter  of  authority  from  Mr.  Wesley. — Dr.  Coke's  letter  to 
Mr.  Wesley. — Charles  Wesley  to  his  brother  John. — Extracts 
from  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  and  Rev.  James  O'Kelley. 

The  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  from  its 
organization  in  1784  down  to  the  present  period,  demonstrates 
the  fact  that  all  the  difficulties  through  which  she  has  passed  have 
had  their  origin  in  the  nature  of  that  system  of  ecclesiastical 
polity  which  she  adopted,  or  rather  which  was  adopted  and  palmed 
upon  her  by  the  two  Britons, — Coke  and  Asbury, — under  the  pro- 
fessed sanction  of  Mr.  Wesley's  name. 

In  the  economy  of  this  government  there  are  two  points  to 
which  we  invite  the  particular  attention  of  the  reader,  viz  :  Epis- 
copacy, and  the  exclusion  of  the  laity  from  any  participation 
whatever  in  the  law  or  rule-making  department  of  the  church. 
Episcopacy  is  a  subject  that  has  had  its  advocates  as  well  as 
opponents  in  almost  every  period  of  the  history  of  the  Christian 
church.  Various  definitions  have  been  given  of  its  prerogatives 
and  powers  as  it  exists  among  the  different  orders  of  Christians.. 
The  Church  of  Rome  has  her  system  of  episcopacy.  The  Greek 
Church  has  hers  also.  The  Church  of  England  boasts  of  the 
scriptural  authority  of  hers ;  and  her  eldest  daughter,  the  Protest- 
ant Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,  brings  forward  her 
30 


350  APPENDIX. 

boastful  pretensions  to  an  "  unbroken  chain  of  prelatical  succes- 
sion" from  the  apostles  down  to  the  present  period.  And  lastly, 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  presents  before  us  her  system  of 
episcopacy,  into  which  we  now  propose  to  institute  an  inquiry 
as  to  its  validity. 

It  is  generally  asserted  by  the  writers  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal school  that  the  government  of  that  church  is  to  be  attributed 
to  John  Wesley,  as  its  author  and  founder,  so  far  as  plan  or  sys- 
tem is  concerned.  The  truth  or  justice  of  this  position  it  is  now 
our  business  to  investigate.  That  John  Wesley  was  the  founder 
of  Methodism  in  Europe  is  admitted  on  all  sides,  and  that  he  like- 
wise supplied  the  American  Methodists  for  a  few  years  with 
preachers  sent  over  from  England  through  his  influence  or  by  his 
authority,  is  equally  true.  But  that  he  recommended  the  "  epis- 
copal form  of  government,"  we  regard  as  altogether  untenable, 
and  it  cannot  be  sustained  by  the  facts  in  the  case. 

During  the  struggle  of  war  between  the  American  colonies  and 
the  mother  country,  a  contest  of  opinion  sprang  up  among  the 
few  Methodist  preachers  then  in  America,  with  regard  to  the 
administration  of  the  ordinances  of  the  church.  At  a  conference 
held  in  Virginia,  in  1779,  the  preachers,  "feeling  the  want  of  the 
instituted  means  of  grace  among  the  societies,"  consulted  together, 
and  chose  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  ordaining  ministers. 
The  committee  thus  chosen  first  ordained  themselves,  and  then 
proceeded  to  ordain  and  set  apart  other  preachers  for  the  same 
purpose,  that  they  might  administer  the  holy  ordinances  of  the 
church  of  Christ*  This  movement  produced  a  warm  contention 
anion":  the  Methodist  preachers,  many  of  them  opposing  such  a 
step  as  being  informal  and  therefore  invalid ;  and  in  order  to  settle 
the  difficulty,  it  was  agreed  among  them  to  desist  from  adminis- 
tering the  ordinances  for  one  year,  and  that  Mr.  Asbury  should, 
in  the  space  of  that  time,  write  to  Mr.  Wesley  in  England,  and 
lay  their  situation  before  him  and  get  his  advice.  This  was  in 
the  year  1780.  Mr.  Wesley,  in  the  year  1783,  wrote  a  letter 
of  advice  to  the  Methodist  societies,  exhorting  them  to  "abide 
by  the  Methodist  doctrines  and  Discipline."     But  in  the  following 

*  Lee's  History  of  the  Methodists,  p.  69. 


APPENDIX. 


351 


year,  1784,  when  peace  had  been  established  between  the  two 
countries,  and  the  colonies  had  become  independent  states,  and  all 
British  authority,  both  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  being  withdrawn, 
and  at  an  end  in  America,  Mr.  Wesley  seems  to  have  taken  new 
views  with  regard  to  the  situation  of  the  American  Methodists, 
as  the  following  circular  letter  to  them  will  show  : 

Bristol,  September  10th,  1784. 
To  Dr.  Coke,  Mr.  Jlsbury,  and  our  brethren  in  North  America : 

1.  By  a  very  uncommon  train  of  providences,  many  of  the 
provinces  of  North  America  are  totally  disjoined  from  the  British 
empire,  and  erected  into  independent  states.  The  English  govern- 
ment has  no  authority  over  them,  either  civil  or  ecclesiastical, 
any  more  than  over  the  states  of  Holland.  A  civil  authority  is 
exercised  over  them,  partly  by  the  Congress,  partly  by  the  state 
Assemblies;  but  no  one  either  exercises  or  claims  any  ecclesiastical 
authority  at  all.  In  this  peculiar  situation  some  thousands  of  the 
inhabitants  of  these  states  desire  my  advice  ;  and  in  compliance 
with  their  desire,  I  have  drawn  up  a  little  sketch. 

2.  Lord  King's  account  of  the  primitive  church  convinced  me 
many  years  ago,  that  bishops  and  presbyters  are  the  same  order 
and  consequently  have  the  same  right  to  ordain.  For  many  years 
I  have  been  importuned  from  time  to  time,  to  exercise  this  right, 
by  ordaining  part  of  our  traveling  preachers.  But  I  have  still 
refused,  not  only  for  peace'  sake,  but  because  I  was  determined 
as  little  as  possible  to  violate  the  established  order  of  the  national 
church  to  which  I  belonged. 

3.  But  the  case  is  widely  different  between  England  and  North 
America.  Here  there  are  bishops  who  have  a  legal  jurisdiction. 
In  America  there  are  none,  and  but  few  parish  ministers.  So 
that  for  some  hundred  miles  together  there  are  none  either  to  bap- 
tize or  administer  the  Lord's  supper.  Here  therefore  my  scruples 
are  at  an  end:  and  I  conceive  myself  at  full  liberty,  as  I  violate 
no  order  and  invade  no  man's  right,  by  appointing  and  sending 
laborers  into  the  harvest. 

4.  I  have  accordingly  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Francis 
Asbury  to  be  joint  superintendents  over  our  brethren  in  North 
America.     As  also  Richard  Whatcoat  and  Thomas  Vasey,  to  act 


352  APPENDIX. 

as  elders  among  them,  by  baptizing  and  administering  the  Lord's 
supper. 

5.  If  any  one  will  point  out  a  more  rational  and  scriptural 
way  of  feeding  and  guiding  those  poor  sheep  in  the  wilderness,  I 
will  gladly  embrace  it.  At  present  I  cannot  see  any  better  method 
than  that  I  have  taken. 

6.  It  has  indeed  been  proposed  to  desire  the  English  bishops 
to  ordain  part  of  our  preachers  for  America.  But  to  this  I  object, 
1.  I  desired  the  bishop  of  London  to  ordain  one  only;  but  could 
not  prevail.  2.  If  they  consented,  we  know  the  slowness  of  their 
proceeding ;  but  the  matter  admits  of  no  delay.  3.  If  they  would 
ordain  them  now,  they  would  likewise  expect  to  govern  them. 
And  how  grievously  would  this  entangle  us!  4.  As  our  Amer- 
ican brethren  are  now  totally  disentangled  both  from  the  state, 
and  from  the  English  hierarchy,  we  dare  not  entangle  them  again 
either  with  the  one  or  the  other.  They  are  now  at  full  liberty, 
simply  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primitive  church.  And 
we  judge  it  best  that  they  should  stand  fast  in  that  liberty  where- 
with God  had  so  strangely  made  them  free. 

John  Wesley. 

The  preceding  letter  is  the  only  document  that  has  ever  been 
produced  in  this  country  bearing  the  signature  of  the  Rev.  John 
Wesley,  having  any  relation  to  the  organization  of  the  Meth- 
odists in  America  into  a  church.  The  declaration  has  often 
been  published  to  the  world,  that  Mr.  Wesley  "preferred  the 
episcopal  form  of  church  government  to  any  other,"  and  that  con- 
sequently he  had  set  apart  and  ordained  Dr.  Coke  to  the  office  of 
bishop.  And  we  find  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  Dis- 
cipline the  following  statement  laid  down  as  an  exposition  of 
the  reasons  and  causes  that  led  to  the  formation  of  that  church, 
as  well  as  the  steps  taken  in  the  same  : 

"  The  preachers  and  members  of  our  society  in  general  being 
convinced  that  there  was  a  great  deficiency  of  vital  religion  in 
the  Church  of  England  in  America,  and  being  in  many  places 
destitute  of  the  Christian  sacraments,  as  several  of  the  clergy  had 
forsaken  their  churches,  requested  the  late  Rev.  John  Wesley  to 
take  such  measures,  in  his  wisdom  and  prudence,  as  would  afford 


APPENDIX.  353 

them  suitable  relief  in  their  distress.     In  consequence  of  this,  our 
venerable  friend,  who,  under  God,  had  been  the  father  of  the  great 
revival   of   religion  now  extending  over   the   earth  by  means 
of  the  Methodists,  determined  to  ordain  ministers  for  America ; 
and  for  this  purpose  in  the  year  1784  sent  over  three  regularly 
ordained  clergy.     But,  preferring  the  episcopal  mode  of  church 
government  to  any  other,  he  solemnly  set  apart,  by  the  imposition 
of  his  hands  and  prayer,  one  of  them,  viz:   Thomas  Coke,  doctor 
of  civil  law,  late  of  Jesus  College,  in  the  University  of  Oxford, 
and  a  presbyter  of  the   Church  of  England,  for    the  episcopal 
office ;  and  having  delivered  to  him  letters  of  episcopal  orders, 
commissioned  and  directed  him  to  set  apart  Francis  Asbury,  then 
general   assistant  of  the  Methodist  society  in  America,  for  the 
same  episcopal  office,   he,  the   said  Francis  Asbury,  being  first 
ordained  deacon  and  elder.     In  consequence  of  which,  the  said 
Francis  Asbury  was  solemnly  set  apart  for  the  said  episcopal 
office,  by  prayer  and  the  imposition   of  the   hands  of  the  said 
Thomas  Coke,  other  regularly  ordained  ministers  assisting  in  the 
sacred  ceremony.     At  which  time  the  General  Conference  held  at 
Baltimore  did  unanimously  receive  the  said  Thomas  Coke  and 
Francis  Asbury  as  their  bishops,  being  fully  satisfied  of  the  validity 
of  their  episcopal  ordination." — See  Methodist  Book  of  Discipline. 
The  preceding  is   the   account  which  the  authorities  of   the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  give  of  her  origin.     Is  it  in  accord- 
ance with  the  principles  laid  down  and  the  statements  made  in 
the  foregoing  letter  signed  by  John  Wesley?    It  is  not.     The 
discrepancy  is  most  palpable.      The  account  in  the  Methodist 
Discipline  says  "  he   (Mr.  Wesley)   solemnly  set  apart,  by  the 
imposition  of  his  hands  and  prayer,  one  of  them,  viz :  Thomas 
Coke,  doctor  of  civil  law,  late  of  Jesus  College,  in  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  a  presbyter  of  the  Church  of  England,  for  the 
episcopal  office."     Mr.  Wesley  says,  "  Lord  King's  account  of  the 
primitive  church  convinced  me,  many  years  ago,  that  bishops  and 
presbyters  are  the  same  order,  and  consequently  have  the  same  right 
to  ordain."    Now,  upon  this  avowal  of  Mr.  Wesley,  Dr.  Coke 
had  as  good  a  right  to  ordain  Mr.  Wesley  to  the  episcopal  office 
as  Mr.  Wesley  had  to  ordain  him.     They  were  both  presbyters 
in  the  Church  of  England,  equal  in  office  and  equal  in  authority 
30* 


354  APPENDIX. 

so  far  as  that  office  gave  them  authority  in  the  church.  In  the 
account  given  in  the  Discipline,  we  find  the  words  "  episcopal" 
and  "  bishop,"  brought  into  use,  but  in  Mr.  Wesley's  letter  they 
are  not  to  be  found,  so  far  as  the  organization  of  a  "  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church"  is  concerned. 

Mr.  Wesley  says,  "  I  have  accordingly  appointed  Dr.  Coke 
and  Mr.  Francis  Asbury  to  be  joint  superintendents  over  our 
brethren  in  America."  That  Mr.  Wesley  never  intended  by 
the  term  "  superintendent,"  in  the  preceding  sentence,  to  convey 
the  idea  that  is  attached  to  the  term  "bishop,"  is  certainly  sus- 
ceptible of  the  clearest  proof.  For,  1.  When  he  spoke  of  the 
prelates  or  church  dignitaries  of  the  Church  of  England,  of  which 
he  was  a  member,  he  never  used  the  term  "  superintendent"  as 
applicable  to  them  at  all,  but  invariably  used  the  term  "bishop." 
2.  Mr.  Asbury,  at  the  date  of  Mr.  Wesley's  letter,  was  nothing 
more  than  a  lay  preacher,  consequently  when  Mr.  Wesley  said* 
"  I  have  appointed  Dr.  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury  to  be  joint 
superintendents,"  he  could  have  had  no  reference  whatever  to 
the  ordination  of  Dr.  Coke  to  the  episcopacy.  3.  If  Dr.  Coke 
ever  was  ordained  to  the  office  of  the  episcopacy  as  taught  and 
received  by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  it  had  been  done 
prior  to  the  date  of  Mr.  Wesley's  letter,  which  is  entirely  silent 
upon  the  subject.  And  lastly,  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
style  and  clearness  of  Mr.  Wesley's  sentences  as  a  writer,  must 
admit  that  he  was  too  concise  to  use  the  word  "  superintendent,' 
to  represent  the  idea  of  the  episcopal  office  in  a  theological  sense. 
That  Mr.  Wesley  gave  Dr.  Coke  a  letter  testimonial  of  his 
appointment  as  a  "superintendent,"  we  readily  admit;  but  the 
words  "episcopacy"  and  "bishop"  are  not  to  be  found  therein. 
As  this  novel  document  is  to  be  found  in  Drew's  Life  of  Dr.  Coke, 
we  shall  transcribe  it  for  the  satisfaction  of  the  curious. 

To  all  whom  these  presents  shall  come:  John  Wesley,  late  fel- 
low of  Lincoln  College,  in  Oxford,  presbyter  of  the  Church  of 
England,  sendeth  greeting: 

Whereas  many  of  the  people  in  the  southern  provinces  of 
North  America,  who  desire  to  continue  under  my  care,  and  still 
adhere  to  the  doctrine  and  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England, 


APPENDIX.  355 

are  greatly  distressed  for  want  of  ministers  to  administer  the  sac- 
rament of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  according  to  the  usages 
of  the  same  church  ;  and  whereas  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
other  way  of  supplying  them  with  ministers, 

Know  all  men  that  I,  John  Wesley,  think  myself  to  be  provi- 
dentially called  at  this  time  to  set  apart  some  persons  for  the 
work  of  the  ministry  in  Ameiica.  And,  therefore,  under  the  pro- 
tection of  Almighty  God,  and  with  a  single  eye  to  his  glory,  I 
have  this  day  set  apart  as  a  superintendent,  by  the  imposition  of 
my  hands  and  prayers,  (being  assisted  by  other  ordained  minis- 
ters,) Thomas  Coke,  doctor  of  civil  law,  a  presbyter  of  the 
Church  of  England,  and  a  man  whom  I  judge  to  be  well  qualified 
for  that  great  work.  And  1  do  hereby  recommend  him  to  all 
whom  it  may  concern  as  a  fit  person  to  preside  over  the  flock  of 
Christ.  In  testimony  whereof  1  have  hereunto  set  my  hand  and 
seal,  this  second  day  of  September,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty- four. 

John  Wesley. 

There  are  two  points  that  deserve  particular  attention  in  the 
preceding  document.  First,  that  many  of  the  Methodists  in 
America  who  desired  to  continue  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Wesley* 
and  "  to  adhere  to  the  doctrines  and  discipline  of  the  church  of 
England,  were  distressed  for  want  of  ministers  to  administer  the 
sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper,  according  to  the 
usage  of  the  same  church."  From  what  is  set  forth  in  this  item 
it  is  evident  that  those  people  still  wished  to  adhere  to  the  doc- 
trine and  discipline  of  the  Church  of  England;  consequently  they 
desired  no  departure  from  her  regulations;  and  of  course  neither 
desired  nor  expected  to  recognize  any  man  in  the  character  of 
"  bishop,"  apart  from  those  who  derived  their  prelatical  functions 
and  authority  from  that  church  ;  and  in  order  to  meet  these  wants 
of  the  people,  a  man  of  Mr.  Wesley's  goodness  of  heart  and 
rectitude  of  purpose  could  never  have  intended  to  place  over  them 
a  man  holding  an  office  contrary  to  the  principles  of  the  established 
church.  Secondly,  that  Mr.  Wesley  did  set  forth  as  a  superin- 
tendent, by  the  imposition  of  his  hands  and  prayers,  Thomas 
Coke.    Upon  this  point  the  question  naturally  arises,  did  Mr. 


356  APPENDIX. 

Wesley  in  this  act  consecrate  or  ordain  Dr.  Coke  a  bishop?  The 
fair  inference  or  answer  is,  he  did  not.  If  he  had  done  so,  his 
candor  was  such  that  he  would  have  been  free  to  declare  it.  But 
he  uses  neither  of  the  terms,  and  merely  states,  "  I  have  set 
apart,"  &c.  If  he  had  regarded  Dr.  Coke  as  a  "  superintendent  " 
vested  with  the  exclusive  authority  and  prerogatives  now  claimed 
by  "  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,"  he  would 
have  felt  free  to  recognize  him  in  that  character.  But  the  reverse 
is  true.  Mr.  Wesley  had  merely  set  apart  Dr.  Coke  as  a  "  super- 
intendent," and  not  as  a  bishop.  The  object  had  in  view  in 
setting  apart  Dr.  Coke  was,  as  it  appears,  that  he  might  visit  the 
Methodists  in  America,  under  the  sanction  of  Mr.  Wesley's  name 
and  influence,  and  make  arrangements  in  order  to  their  being  sup- 
plied with  the  "sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper." 
And  as  Mr.  Wesley  declared  over  his  own  signature,  eight  days 
after  that  setting  apart,  that  Lord  King's  account  of  the  primitive 
church  had  convinced  him  years  ago  that  bishops  and  presbyters 
are  the  same  order,  it  would  be  doing  him  not  only  gross  injustice, 
but  charging  him  with  folly,  to  assert  that,  entertaining  such  sen- 
timents as  this  concerning  ecclesiastical  orders,  he  had  set  apart 
or  ordained  Dr.  Coke  (who  was  then  a  presbyter  in  the  Church  of 
England)  to  the  office  of  bishop  in  the  Methodist  Church  in 
America.  He  was  a  man  whose  intentions  were  too  pure  to  lay 
himself  liable  to  such  a  charge  of  duplicity.  There  is  not  an 
instance  on  record  in  which  he  called  either  Dr.  Coke  or  Mr. 
Asbury  "bishop."  But  he  invariably  opposed  their  assumption 
of  that  title,  of  which  there  is  an  ample  amount  of  documentary 
testimony ;  and  that  opposition  must  have  been  for  the  reason 
that  they  were  not  bishops  in  his  estimation,  as  they  professed  to 
be ;  or  else  his  opposition  to  their  use  of  the  term  rested  upon 
improper  grounds,  which  none  will  presume  to  assert. 

We  shall  here  introduce  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  biographers, 
Rev.  Mr.  Moore,  to  speak  upon  the  point  at  issue.  "  With  re- 
spect to  the  title  of  bishop,  I  know  that  Mr.  Wesley  enjoined  the 
doctor  and  his  associates,  and  in  the  most  solemn  manner,  that  it 
should  not  be  taken.  In  a  letter  to  Mrs.  Gilbert,  the  widow  of 
the  excellent  Nathaniel  Gilbert,  Esq.,  of  Antigua,  a  copy  of 
which  now  lies  before  me,  he  states  this  in  the  strongest  manner. 


APPENDIX.  357 

"  In  this  and  every  deviation,  I  cannot  be  the  apologist  of  Dr. 
Coke,  and  I  can  state,  in  contradiction  to  all  Dr.  Whitehead  and 
Mr.  Hampson  have  said,  that  Mr.  Wesley  never  gave  his  sanc- 
tion to  any  of  these  things;  nor  was  he  the  author  of  one  line  of 
all  that  Dr.  Coke  published  in  America  on  this  subject.  His 
views,  on  these  points,  were  very  different  from  those  of  his  zeal- 
ous son  in  the  gospel.  He  knew  that  a  work  of  God  neither 
needed,  nor  could  be  aided,  nor  could  recommend  itself  to  pious 
minds  by  such  additions."     (Moore's  Life  of  Wesley.) 

The  preceding  testimony  of  Mr.  Moore,  Mr.  Wesley's  biogra- 
pher, is  to  the  point.  It  shows  conclusively  that  Mr.  Wesley 
did  oppose  the  pretensions  of  "  Dr.  Coke  and  his  associates  "  to 
the  episcopacy,  and  consequently  the  terms,  "episcopacy,"  "  epis- 
copal," and  "  bishop,"  so  far  as  they  are  applied  to  the  Methodist 
Church,  are  purely  of  American  invention. 

The  "setting  apart  of  Dr.  Coke  as  superintendent,"  and  the 
events  that  grew  out  of  it,  produced  much  dissatisfaction  amongst 
the  warmest  friends  and  most  ardent  admirers  of  Mr.  Wesley. 
Different  views  have  been  taken  by  many,  with  regard  to  the 
motives  that  influenced  his  actions,  and  prompted  him  to  pursue 
the  course  so  much  deplored  by  his  friends.  At  this  period  he 
was  far  advanced  in  life,  being  in  his  eighty-second  year,  a  period 
of  life  in  which  the  counsels  and  influence  of  others  would  most 
likely  succeed  in  warping  him  aside  from  a  policy  to  which  he 
had  long  adhered,  or  cause  him  to  abandon  the  well  cherished 
principles  of  earlier  days.  His  brother,  Mr.  Charles  Wesley, 
speaking  of  this  step  says: 

"  'Twas  age  that  made  the  breach,  not  he." 

History  seems  to  be  silent,  or  at  least  ambiguous,  with  regard 
to  the  individual  with  whom  the  scheme  originated,  to  "  set 
apart  Dr.  Coke  as  a, 'superintendent,'"'  yet  it  appears,  with  all 
the  force  of  a  moral  certainty,  that  after  the  subject  had  been  en- 
tertained by  Mr.  Wesley  he  doubted  the  propriety  of  the  mea- 
sure. The  clergymen  who  attended  the  conference  at  Leeds 
opposed  the  scheme. 

Says  Dr.  Whitehead,  "Mr.  Fletcher  was  consulted  by  letter, 
who  advised  that  a  bishop  should  be  prevailed  upon,  if  possible, 


258  APPENDIX. 

?J 

to  ordain  them,  (Coke  and  others,)  and  then  Mr.  Wesley  might 
appoint  them  to  such  offices  in  the  societies  as  he  thought  proper, 
and  give  them  letters  testimonial  of  the  appointment  he  had  given 
them.  Mr.  Wesley  well  knew  that  no  bishop  would  ordain 
them  at  his  recommendation,  and  therefore  seemed  inclined  to  do 
it  himself.  In  this  purpose,  however,  he  appeared  so  languid,  if 
not  wavering,  that  Dr.  Coke  thought  necessary  to  use  some  fur- 
ther means  to  urge  him  to  the  performance  of  it.  Accordingly, 
August  9,  Mr.  Wesley  being  then  in  Wales  on  his  way  to  Bristol, 
the  doctor  sent  him  the  following  letter: 

Honored  and  Dear  Sir, — The  more  maturely  1  consider  the 
subject,  the  more  expedient  it  appears  to  me  that  the  power  of 
ordaining  others  should  be  received  by  me  from  you,  by  the  im- 
position of  your  hands;  and  that  you  should  lay  hands  on  brother 
Whatcoat  and  brother  Vasey,  for  the  following  reasons:  1.  It 
seems  to  me  the  most  scriptural  way,  and  most  agreeable  to  the 
practice  of  the  primitive  churches.  2.  I  may  want  all  the  influ- 
ence in  America  which  you  can  throw  into  my  scale.  Mr. 
Brackenbury  informed  me  at  Leeds  that  he  saw  a  letter  in  Lon- 
don from  Mr.  Asbury,  in  which  he  observed  that  he  would  not 
receive  any  person  deputed  by  you  with  any  part  of  the  superin- 
tendency  of  the  work  invested  in  him,  or  words  which  evidently 
implied  so  much.  I  do  not  find  any,  the  least  degree  of  prejudice 
in  my  mind  against  Mr.  Asbury,  on  the  contrary  a  very  great 
love  and  esteem,  and  am  determined  not  to  stir  a  finger  without 
his  consent,  unless  mere  sheer  necessity  obliges  me,  but  rather  to 
lie  at  his  feet  in  all  things.  But  as  the  journey  is  Jong,  and  you 
cannot  spare  me  often,  and  it  is  well  to  provide  against  all  events, 
and  an  authority  formally  received  from  you  will  (I  am  conscious 
of  it)  be  fully  admitted  by  the  people,  and  my  exercising  the  office 
of  ordination  without  that  formal  authority  may  be  disputed,  if  there 
be  any  opposition  on  any  account ;  I  would  therefore  earnestly 
wish  you  would  exercise  that  power  in  this  instance,  which  I  have 
not  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  but  God  hath  invested  you  with  for  the 
good  of  our  connexion.  1  think  you  have  tried  me  too  often  to 
doubt  whether  1  will  in  any  degree  use  the  power  you  are  pleased 
to  invest  me  with,  further  than  I  believe  is  absolutely  necessary  for 
the  prosperity  of  the  work.     3.  In  respect  of  my  brethren  (bros. 


APPEXDIX. 


25^ 


What  coat  and  Vasey),  it  is  very  uncertain  indeed  -whether  any  of 
the  clergy  mentioned  by  brother  Rankin  will  stir  a  step  in  the 
work,  except  Mr.  Jarrett ;  and  it  is  by  no  means  certain  that  even 
he  will  choose  to  join  me  in  ordaining ;  and  propriety  and  universal 
practice  make  it  expedient  that  I  should  have  two  presbyters  with 
me  in  this  work.  In  short,  it  appears  to  me  that  every  thing 
should  be  prepared,  and  every  thing  proper  be  done,  that  can  pos- 
sibly be  done  this  side  the  water.     You  can  do  all  this  in  Mr. 

C n's  house,  in  your  chamber ;  and  afterwards  (according  to 

Mr.  Fletcher's  advice)  give  us  letters  testimonial  of  the  different 
offices  with  which  you  have  been  pleased  to  invest  us.  For  the 
purpose  of  laying  hands  on  brothers  Whatcoat  and  Vasey,  I  can 
bring  Mr.  C.  down  with  me,  by  which  you  will  have  two  pres- 
byters with  you.  In  respect  to  brother  Rankiivs  argument,  that 
you  will  escape  a  great  deal  of  odium  by  omitting  this,  it  is  no- 
thing. Either  it  will  be  known  or  not  known;  if  not  known,  then 
no  odium  will  arise ;  but  if  known,  you  will  be  obliged  to  ac- 
knowledge that  1  acted  under  your  direction,  or  suffer  me  to  sink 
under  the  weight  of  my  enemies,  with  perhaps  your  brother  at 
the  head  of  them.  1  shall  entreat  you  to  ponder  these  things. 
Your  most  dutiful,  T.  Coke. 

This  letter  affords  matter  for  several  observations,  both  of  the 
serious  and  comic  kind;  but  I  shall  not  indulge  myself  on  the  oc- 
casion it  so  fairly  offers.  The  attentive  reader  who  examines 
every  part  of  it,  will  be  at  no  loss  to  conjecture  to  whose  in- 
fluence we  must  impute  Mr.  Wesley's  conduct  in  the  present 
business. 

"  That  Mr.  Wesley  should  suffer  himself  to  be  so  far  influenced 
in  a  matter  of  the  utmost  importance,  both  to  his  own  character 
and  to  the  societies,  by  a  man  of  whose  judgment  in  advising, 
and  talents  in  conducting  any  affair,  he  had  no  very  high  opinion, 
is  truly  astonishing,  but  so  it  was !  Mr.  Wesley  came  to  Bristol, 
and  September  1,  every  thing  being  prepared  as  proposed  above, 
he  complied  with  the  doctor's  earnest  wish,  by  consecrating  him 
one  of  the  bishops,  and  Messrs.  Whatcoat  and  Yasey  presbyters  of 
the  new  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  America."* 

*See  Whiteheads  Life  of  Wesley,  vol.  ii.  pp.  255-6. 


360  APPENDIX. 

Dr.  Coke  was  ordained  in  the  manner,  and  at  the  place,,  and 
under  the  circumstances  suggested  and  insisted  upon  in  his  letter 
to  Mr.  Wesley.  Can  any  one  who  has  read,  the  account,  for  a 
moment  doubt  with  regard  to  the  identity  of  the  prime  mover  in 
this  strange  procedure  ?  We  find  Dr.  Coke  petitioning  for  the 
office,  and  setting  forth  the  steps  that  might  be  taken  in  bestow- 
ing that  office  upon  him.  In  the  next  place,  we  find  Mr.  Wesley 
granting  the  asked  for  boon,  according  to  the  request  of  the  peti- 
tioner, and  Dr.  Coke  is  set  apart  as  a  "  superintendent."  Up  to 
this  period  the  term  "  bishop,"  had  not  been  applied  to  Dr.  Coke. 
It  was  reserved  to  himself  to  take  the  initiative  in  the  use  of  that 
term.  Mr.  Wesley  has  been  much  censured  by  his  friends  for 
the  steps  he  took  in  the  ordination  or  consecration  of  Dr.  Coke, 
and  by  none  more  so  than  by  his  brother,  Charles  Wesley. 

Dr.  Whitehead,  one  of  Mr.  Wesley's  biographers,  in  speaking  of 
the  ordination  of  Dr.  Coke,  uses  the  following  language:  "But 
Mr.  Wesley  was  never  publicly  elected  by  any  presbyters  and 
people  to  the  office  of  a  bishop ;  nor  ever  consecrated  to  it;  which 
made  his  brother  Charles  say : 

•  So  easily  are  bishops  made, 

By  man's  or  woman's  whim ; 
Wesley  his  hands  on  Coke  hath  laid, 

But  who  laid  hands  on  him  ?' 

The  answer  is,  no  body.  His  episcopal  authority  was  a  mere 
gratuitous  assumption  of  power  to  himself,  contrary  to  the  usage 
of  every  church,  ancient  or  modern,  where  the  order  of  bishops 
has  been  admitted.  There  is  no  precedent  either  in  the  New  Tes- 
tament or  in  church  history  that  can  justify  his  proceeding  in 
this  affair.  And  as  Mr.  Wesley  had  received  no  right  to  exercise 
episcopal  authority,  either  from  any  bishops,  presbyters,  or  peo- 
ple, he  certainly  could  not  convey  any  right  to  others :  his  ordi- 
nations, therefore,  are  spurious  and  of  no  validity. 

"  Nor  can  Mr.  Wesley's  practice  of  ordaining  be  justified  by 
those  reasons  which  Presbyterians  adduce  in  favor  of  their  own 
method  of  ordaining  to  the  ministry ;  for  Mr.  Wesley  ordained 
not  as  a  presbyter,  but  as  a  bishop  !  his  ordinations,  therefore, 
were  not  presbyterian,  nor  will  the  arguments  for  presbyterian 
ordination  apply  to  them. 


APPENDIX.  361 

"Let  us  review  the  arguments  on  this  subject,  reduced  to  a  few- 
propositions :  1.  Mr.  Wesley,  in  ordaining  or  consecrating  Dr. 
Coke  a  bishop,  acted  in  direct  contradiction  to  the  principle  upon 
which  he  attempts  to  defend  this  practice  of  ordaining  at  all.  2. 
As  Mr.  Wesley  was  never  elected  or  chosen  by  any  church  to  be 
a  bishop,  nor  ever  consecrated  to  the  office,  either  by  bishops  or 
presbyters,  he  had  not  the  shadow  of  right  to  exercise  episcopal 
authority  in  ordaining  others,  according  to  the  rules  of  any  church 
ancient  or  modern.  3.  Had  he  possessed  the  proper  right  to 
ordain,  either  as  a  bishop  or  presbyter,  (though  he  never  did  ordain 
as  a  presbyter,)  yet  his  ordinations,  being  done  in  secret,  were 
rendered  thereby  invalid  and  of  no  effect,  according  to  the  estab- 
lished order  of  the  primitive  church,  and  of  all  Protestant 
churches."* 

Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  who  had  walked  hand  in  hand  as  it  were 
with  his  brother  John,  condemned  in  severe  terms  his  policy  and 
conduct,  as  well  as  the  "  ambitious  pursuits  "  of  Dr.  Coke,  as  the 
following  extract  of  a  letter  from  him  will  show  : 

"  I  must  not  leave  unanswered  your  surprising  question,  'What 
then  are  you  frightened  at  ?'  At  the  doctor's  rashness  and  your 
supporting  him  in  his  ambitious  pursuits — at  an  approaching 
schism  as  causeless  and  unprovoked  as  the  American  rebellion 
— at  your  own  eternal  disgrace,  and  all  those  frightful  evils  which 
your  reasons  describe.  'If  you  will  go  hand  in  hand  with  me, 
do.'  I  do  go,  or  rather  creep  on  in  the  old  way  in  which  we  set 
out,  and  trust  to  continue  in  it  until  I  finish  my  course.  'Perhaps 
if  you  had  kept  close  to  me,  I  might  have  done  belter.'  When^you 
took  that  fatal  step  at  Bristol,  1  kept  as  close  to  you  as  close  could 
be;  for  I  was  all  the  time  at  your  elbow.  You  might  certainly 
have  done  better  if  you  had  taken  me  in  to  be  one  of  your  council. 

"  I  thank  you  for  your  intention  to  remain  my  friend.  Herein 
my  heart  is  as  your  heart.  Whom  God  hath  joined  let  no  man 
put  asunder.  We  have  taken  each  other  for  better  for  worse, 
till  death  do  us  part  ?— no,  but  eternally  unite.  Therefore,  in  the 
love  which  never  faileth,  I  am, 

"  Your  affectionate  friend  and  brother,  C.  Wesley." 

*  See  Whitehead's  Life  of  Wesley,  vol.  ii,  p.  269. 
31 


362  APPENDIX. 

We  will  now  follow  Dr.  Coke  to  America,  and  notice  his 
movements  in  this  country  in  reference  to  his  new  station  as  su- 
perintendent.   Jesse  Lee  says,  in  his  history  of  the  Methodists: 

"As  soon  as  Dr.  Coke  landed  in  America,  he  laid  his  plan  to 
meet  Mr.  Asbury  as  soon  as  possible,  and  traveling  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia,  and  then  down  into  the  Delaware  state,  he 
met  with  Mr.  Asbury  at  Barret's  chapel  on  the  14th  of  the  same 
month.  They  then  consulted  together  about  the  plan  which  Mr. 
Wesley  had  adopted  and  recommended  to  us.  After  the  business 
was  maturely  weighed,  and  sufficient  time  was  taken  to  consult 
some  more  of  the  preachers  who  were  present  on  that  day,  it  was 
judged  advisable  to  call  together  all  the  traveling  preachers  in  a 
general  conference,  to  be  held  at  Baltimore,  at  Christmas. 

"Mr.  Freeborn  Garrison  undertook  to  travel  to  the  south,  in 
order  to  give  notice  to  all  the  traveling  preachers  of  this  intended 
meeting.  But  being  fond  of  preaching  by  the  way,  and  thinking 
he  could  do  the  business  by  writing,  he  did  not  give  timely  notice 
to  the  preachers.'who  were  in  the  extremities  of  the  work,  and  of 
course  several  of  them  were  not  at  the  conference. 

"December  27th,  1784. — The  thirteenth  conference  began  in 
Baltimore,  which  was  considered  to  be  a  General  Conference,  in 
which  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury  presided. 

"At  this  conference  we  formed  ourselves  into  a  regular  church, 
by  the  name  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  making  at  the 
same  time  the  episcopal  office  elective,  and  the  elected  superin- 
tendent amenable  to  the  body  of  ministers  and  preachers." 

From  this  statement  of  Mr.  Lee  it  is  evident  that  only  a  small 
attendance  of  the  preachers  was  had  at  the  Baltimore  Conference 
when  the  organization  of  the  "  Methodist  Episcopal  Church" 
took  place. 

Mr.  Asbury  in  his  journal  says,  "  Friday,  24th  (December), 
rode  to  Baltimore,  where  we  met  a  few  preachers ;  it  was  agreed 
to  form  ourselves  into  an  episcopal  church,  with  superintendents, 
elders  and  deacons.  When  the  conference  was  seated,  Dr.  Coke 
and  myself  were  unanimously  elected  to  the  superintendency  of 
the  church.  We  were  in  great  haste,  and  did  much  business  in  a 
little  time?'' 

It  is  exceedingly  strange  that  this  body  of  men,  convened  for 


APPENDIX. 


363 


the  purpose  of  transacting  business  of  such  vast  importance  to  the 
spiritual  interests  of  thousands,  should  act  in  such  "  great  haste." 
But  perhaps  these  two  Britons,  Coke  and  Asbury,  in  order  that 
their  favorite  plans  might  be  adopted  in  that  body,  found  it  most 
expedient,  as  the  presiding  officers  of  the  conference,  to  do  "  much 
business  in  a  little  time." 

We  shall  here  introduce  another  witness  who  was  present  at 
the  Baltimore  Conference  of  1784,  viz:  Rev.  James  O'Kelley. 
This  distinguished  minister  in  his  "Apology"  speaks  thus: 

"  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1784,  in  the 
twelfth  month,  the  traveling  preachers  were  called  together  to  the 
great  city  of  Baltimore,  to  consider  the  contents  of  the  circular 
fetter. 

"  2.  We  perceived  the  counsel  given  in  the  circular  letter  to  be 
good ;  because  we  are  directed  to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the 
primitive  church ;  and  to  stand  fast  in  our  liberties,  seeing  we 
were  free  from  the  power  of  kings  and  bishops.     Amen. 

"  3.  The  conference  unanimously  agreed  to  separate  from  the 
Church  of  England ;  and  therefore  we  formed  our  religious  socie- 
ties into  an  independent  church.  The  title  was  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church. 

"  4.  The  term  episcopacy  did  not  set  well  on  the  minds  of  some, 
seeing  Mr.  Wesley  assured  us  it  was  not  apostolic.  But  Thomas 
explained  it  away,  by  that  indefinitive  term  '  Methodist  Episco- 
pacy.'    We  had  episcopacy  but  no  bishop. 

"  5.  Thomas  and  Francis  were  our  superintendents,  as  presiding 
elders,  according  to  John's  appointment.  But  they  were  not 
elected  by  the  suffrage  of  conference,  although  it  is  so  written  in 
the  book  of  Discipline." 

We  have  now  introduced  two  witnesses  who  attended  the  Bal- 
timore Conference  of  1784,  when  the  organization  of  the  M.  E. 
Church  took  place.  Mr.  Asbury  says,  "we  were  in  great 
haste  and  did  much  business  in  a  little  time"  Mr.  James 
O'Kelley  says,  "Thomas  and  Francis  were  our  superintendents, 
as  presiding  elders,  according  to  John's  (Wesley's)  appointment. 
But  they  were  not  elected  by  the  suffrage  of  conference,  although 
it  is  so  written  in  the  book  of  Discipline."  Here  Mr.  O'Kelley 
joins  issue  with  what  is  recorded  in  the  book  of  Discipline.     And 


364  APPENDIX. 

we  think  his  assertions  in  this  case  worthy  of  alJ  credit,  as  he 
was  present  at  the  Baltimore  Conference,  and  was  ordained  to 
the  office  of  elder  during  its  session,  and  maintained  a  character 
of  spotless  purity  until  death.  He  declares  that  Dr.  Coke  and 
Francis  Asbury  were  not  elected  to  their  offices,  as  superinten- 
dents of  the  church,  by  the  suffrages  of  the  conference.  We  have 
also  introduced  Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  who  (ihere  being  no  evidence 
that  we  can  gather  of  his  being  at  the  Baltimore  Conference  of 
1784)  says,  "Mr.  Asbury  was  appointed  a  superintendent  by 
Mr.  Wesley,  yet  he  would  not  submit  to  be  ordained,  unless  he 
could  be  voted  in  by  the  conference :  when  it  was  put  to  vote  he 
was  unanimously  chosen."  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  we 
have  been  able  to  find  in  our  researches  that  will  go  to  show  that 
Mr.  Lee  was  at  that  conference,  consequently  he  could  not  have 
spoken  as  an  eye  witness. 

Again,  it  has  been  asserted,  and  with  much  show  of  reason  and 
truth,  that  some  of  the  general  minutes  of  the  early  Methodist 
Conferences  have  been  altered;  and  if  so,  it  was  not  an  impossi- 
bility for  Jesse  Lee  to  learn  a  different  account  of  the  manner  in 
which  Mr.  Asbury  came  into  office  from  that  given  by  Rev.  James 
O'Kelley.  For  instance,  Mr.  Lee  tells  us  that  at  the  Conference 
of  1784  the  following  question  and  answer  were  adopted: 

"  Q.  2.  What  can  be  done  in  order  to  the  future  union  of  the 
Methodists  ? 

"  A.  During  the  life  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  we  acknowledge 
ourselves  his  sons  in  the  gospel,  ready  in  matters  belonging 
to  church  government  to  obey  his  commands,"  &c. 

And  that  at  the  conference  of  1787  this  engagement  was  left 
out  of  the  minutes. 

Again,  the  same  author  tells  us  that  "in  the  course  of  this  year 
(1787)  Mr.  Asbury  reprinted  the  general  minutes,  but  in  a  differ- 
ent form  from  what  they  were  before."  That  they  (the  superin- 
tendents) gave  themselves  the  title  of  bishop,  in  the  minutes.  That 
"  they  changed  the  title  themselves  without  the  consent  of  con- 
ference," &c. 

Now  taking  this  view  of  the  case,  we  are  forced  to  the  natural 
conclusion  that  inasmuch  as  those  two  Britons,  who  would  be 
American  bishops,  could  presume  to  alter  or  change  the  "  general 


APPENDIX.  365 

minutes,"  the  account  given  by  Mr.  O'Kelley,  who  was  an  eye 
witness,  is  to  be  preferred  to  that  of  Rev.  Jesse  Lee.  who  was 
probably  not  there  ;  and  that  "  they  (Coke  and  Asbury)  were  not 
elected  by  the  suffrage  of  conference  although  it  is  so  written  in 
the  book  of  Discipline." 

But  the  reader  may  inquire,  may  we  not  place  implicit  reliance 
upon  the  assertion  of  Mr.  Asbury,  when  he  says  "  Dr.  Coke  and 
myself  were  unanimously  elected  to  the  superintendency  of  the 
church  ?"  To  which  we  reply  that  Mr.  Asbury,  in  the  printed 
general  minutes  for  1787,  left  out  the  term  "  superintendent,"  and 
inserted  "  bishop  "  in  its  place,  without  any  authority  for  doing 
so.*  Therefore  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that,  if  Mr.  Asbury 
could  allow  himself  such  latitude  in  the  use  of  terms,  it  was  not 
a  difficult  affair  for  him  to  write  down  the  term  or  phrase  in  his 
journal,  "unanimously  elected,"  when  the  plain  import  of  the 
transaction  was  nothing  more  than  being  "  unanimously  "  received 
by  the  conference  as  one  of  the  superintendents  of  the  church. 

It  will  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  reader  that  Mr.  Asbury  was 
brought  up  and  educated  in  "  a  land  of  kings  and  bishops,"  in 
which  elections,  according  to  the  common  acceptation  of  that 
word,  are  not  much  in  vogue ;  and  consequently,  inasmuch  as  he 
belonged  to  the  British  school,  his  ideas  of  "election"  were  not 
of  the  American  mould.  It  is  well  known  that  he  was  not  an 
admirer  of  "elections,"  even  in  the  General  Conference,  and  the 
part  that  he  and  his  friends  acted  in  that  body  at  its  session  in 
Baltimore,  in  1792,  in  opposition  to  the  measure  proposed  allow- 
ing the  preachers  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  conference  from  the 
appointment  of  the  bishop,  if  they  thought  themselves  injured  by 
his  appointment,  goes  to  show  his  anti-republican  feelings.  Mr. 
Asbury  and  his  adherents  advocated  the  absolute  authority  of  the 
"one-man-power,"  the  bishop,  upon  that  occasion,  and  defeated 
the  measure  proposed.  It  was  the  principles  laid  down  and  the 
doctrines  advanced  by  Mr.  Asbury  and  his  friends,  upon  this 
occasion,  that  induced  the  Rev.  William  McKendree  (afterwards 
bishop),  the  Rev.  James  O'Kelley,  and  several  other  traveling 
ministers,  to  withdraw  from   the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

*  See  Lee's  History  of  the  Methodists,  page  128. 
31* 


366  APPENDIX. 

Therefore,  under  all  the  circumstances  we  are  fully  persuaded 
that  the  Rev.  James  0"Kelley  spoke  what  he  knew  to  be  true, 
when  he  said,  "  Thomas  and  Francis  were  our  superintendents,  as 
presiding  elders,  according  to  John's  appointment;  but  they  were 
not  elected  by  the  suffrages  of  conference,  although  it  is  so  written 
in  the  book  of  Discipline." 


APPENDIX.  367 


CHAPTER    II. 

Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  assume  the  title  of  bishop. — Remarks 
upon  the  same. — Letter  from  Mr.  Wesley  to  a  friend. — Letter 
from  Mr.  Wesley  to  Mr.  Asbury,  remonstrating  with  him  about 
the  title  "  bishop." — Letter  from  Dr.  Coke  to  Bishop  White  of 
Philadelphia,  proposing  a  union  of  the  Methodist  and  Episcopalian 
Churches. — Letter  from  Bishop  White  to  one  of  his  friends. 
—Dr.  Coke's  certificate  to  the  conference. — Dr.  Coke's  letter 
to  Mr.  Wilberforce,  soliciting  the  appointment  of  bishop  in 
connexion  with  the  Church  of  England  to  India. — Remarks  upon 
the  foregoing. 

From  what  has  been  brought  to  view  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
it  is  evident  that  the  pretensions  of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  to 
the  episcopacy  rest  upon  grounds  both  strange  and  unreasonable. 
And  if  we  extend  our  inquiries  still  further,  we  shall  discover  that 
the  position  occupied  by  these  two  men  is  such  as  may  well 
excite  in  the  bosom  of  the  reader  a  sympathetic  feeling  for  some 
of  the  traits  that  belong  to  man's  fallen  nature.  Mr.  O'Kelley 
tells  us  that  "  about  the  year  1787  Francis  directed  the  preachers 
whenever  they  wrote  to  him  to  title  him  bishop.  They  did 
so:  and  this  was  the  beginning  of  our  spurious  episcopacy."  Up 
to  this  time  the  title  of  "  bishop  "  had  not  been  used  in  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church  ;  the  two  superintendo./s  were  known 
only  as  such,  but  it  seems  they  coveted  quite  a  different  title,  and 
in  order  to  receive  that  title,  were  willing  to  condescend  so  low  as 
to  take  the  initiative  steps  themselves.  What  a  humiliating 
thought  !  But  again  we  propose  to  call  up  another  witness  to 
testify  on  this  point.  Rev.  Jesse  Lee  says :  "  In  the  course  of 
this  year  (1787)  Mr.  Asbury  reprinted  the  general  minutes;  but 
in  a  different  form  from  what  they  were  before.  *  *  *  *  This 
was  the  first  time  that  our  superintendents  ever  gave  themselves 
the  title  of  bishop  in  the  minutes.  They  changed  the  title  them- 
selves, without  the  consent  of  the  conference ;  and  at  the  next 
conference  they  asked  the  preachers  if  the  word  bishop  might 


368 


APPENDIX. 


stand  in  the  minutes ;  seeing  it  was  a  Scripture  name,  and  the 
meaning  of  the  word  bishop  was  the  same  with  that  of  superin- 
tendent. 

"Some  of  the  preachers  opposed  the  alteration,  and  wished  to 
retain  the  former  title ;  but  a  majority  of  the  preachers  agreed 
to  let  the  word  bishop  remain." 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  concise  history  of  the  manner  in  which 
episcopacy  crept  into  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  "Francis 
directed  the  preachers  when  they  wrote  to  him  to  title  him  bishop! 
This  was  the  first  time  our  superintendents  ever  gave  themselves 
the  title  of  bishop  in  the  minutes.  They  changed  the  title  them- 
selves without  the  consent  of  the  conference ! ! .'"  Why  was  this 
donej1  Were  they  in  truth  and  in  fact  bishops,  and  did  the  church 
or  the  conference  withhold  from  them  their  rightful  titles?  We 
think  not.  Was  this  act  of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  intended 
to  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  church  or  the  cause  of  Christian- 
ity? Surely  it  was  not.  The  church  had  not  thought  proper  to 
call  them  bishops.  The  conference  had  not  thought  proper  to  call 
them  bishops.  Therefore  they  were  not  regarded  as  bishops. 
But  they  "  gave  themselves  the  title  of  bishop  in  the  minutes," 
"  without  the  consent  of  the  conference  "  Again,  "  at  the  next 
conference  they  asked  the  preachers  if  the  word  bishop  might 
stand  in  the  minutes;"  thus  was  the  favor  asked,  and  thus  the 
much  loved  object  gained.  What  a  charm  there  must  have  been 
in  that  name  !  Is  not  this  without  a  parallel  in  all  ecclesiastical 
history  ?  Where  shall  we  find  upon  record  a  transaction  amongst 
the  ministers  of  Protestant  churches  that  exhibits  so  much  of  the 
spirit  of  arrogance  and  of  self-elevation  ?  But  however  pleasing 
this  title  may  have  been  to  the  fancy  of  these  two  Englishmen,  it 
appears  from  the  testimony  that  we  shall  hereafter  introduce  in  its 
proper  place,  that  Dr.  Coke,  at  least,  whom  we  shall  designate  as 
the  father  of  Methodist  episcopacy,  was  far,  very  far  from  being 
satisfied  with  his  claims  to  legality  in  the  episcopal  office. 

The  conference  of  1784  had  adopted  the  following  as  one  of 
their  binding  rules :  "During  the  life  of  the  Eev.  Mr.  Wesley, 
we  acknowledge  ourselves  his  sons  in  the  gospel,  ready  in  mat- 
ters belonging  to  church  government  to  obey  his  commands;"  and, 
strange  to  relate,  the  conference  of   1787,  which  granted  the 


APPENDIX.  369 

request  of  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury,  that  the  word  "  bishop  " 
might  stand  upon  the  minutes  in  the  room  of  "  superintendent," 
left  off  from  their  printed  minutes  this  solemn  acknowledgment 
and  obligation  entered  into.  What  could  have  been  the  motives 
that  led  to  this  act?  Was  it  not  feared  that  his  influence  or  au- 
thority over  the  preachers  would  operate  against  the  new-horn 
episcopacy  of  the  two  superintendents?  But  this  is  not  all ;  for 
we  find  from  various  sources  of  high  and  unquestionable  author- 
ity, that  the  name  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wesley  was  also  left  off  the 
minutes  of  conference  at  the  same  time.  In  order  to  give  the 
reader  an  idea  of  the  feelings  of  the  venerable  Wesley  under  such 
treatment  from  those  of  whom  he  had  a  right  to  expect  better 
things,  we  shall  insert  a  copy  of  an  extract  of  a  letter  written  by 
Mr.  Wesley  to  Rev.  Beverly  Allen,  and  first  published  by  Rev. 
Wm.  Hammett  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  in  1792. 

London,  October  31st,  1789. 

My  Dear  Brother, — The  point  you  desire  my  thoughts 
upon  is  doubtless  of  no  common  importance.  And  I  will  give 
you  my  settled  thoughts  concerning  it  without  the  least  disguise 
or  reserve.  Indeed  this  has  been  always  my  manner  of  speaking 
when  I  speak  of  the  things  of  God.  It  should  be  so  now  in  par- 
ticular, as  these  may  probably  be  the  last  words  that  you  will 
receive  from  me. 

It  pleased  God  sixty  years  ago,  by  me,  to  awaken  and  join 
together  a  little  company  in  London,  whence  they  spread  through- 
out the  land.  Sometime  after  I  was  much  importuned  to  send 
some  of  my  children  to  America,  to  which  I  cheerfully  consented. 
God  prospered  their  labors;  but  they  and  their  children  still  es- 
teemed themselves  one  family,  no  otherwise  divided  than  as 
Methodists  on  one  side  of  the  Thames  are  divided  from  the  other. 
I  was  therefore  a  little  surprised  when  I  received  some  letters  from 
Mr.  Asbury,  affirming  that  no  person  in  Europe  knew  how  to 
direct  those  in  America.  Soon  after  he  flatly  refused  to  receive 
Mr.  Whatcoat  in  the  character  I  sent  him. 

He  told  George  Shadford,  "  Mr.  Wesley  and  I  are  like  Caesar 
and  Pompey, — he  will  bear  no  equal,  and  I  will  bear  no  superior." 
And  accordingly  he  quietly  sat  by,  until  his  friends,  by  common 


370 


APPENDIX. 


consent,  voted  my  name  out  of  the  American  minutes.  This 
completed  the  matter  and  showed  he  had  no  connection  with 
me."* 

Who  can  read  this  account  given  by  Mr.  Wesley  of  the  treat- 
ment he  had  received  at  the  hands  of  Mr.  Asbury,  and  not  feel 
fully  convinced  of  the  force  of  the  truth,  that  Mr.  Wesley's  will 
and  authority  had  been  most  ungratefully  discarded  by  those  very 
persons  from  whom  he  had  a  right  to  expect  better  treatment  ? 

But  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  by  the  reader  that  Dr.  Coke  and 
Mr.  Asbury  were  now  wearing  the  title,  of  bishop,  and  as  Mr. 
Wesley  professed  to  be  nothing  more  than  "  a  presbyter  of  the 
Church  of  England,"  they  very  possibly  concluded  that  he  was 
quite  an  improper  person  to  have  any  connection  with,  or  au- 
thority over  them,  being  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

From  the  documents  and  authorities  which  we  have  introduced 
we  can  plainly  perceive  the  improper,  illegal  and  unjustifiable 
manner  in  which  episcopacy  was  foisted  upon  the  Methodist 
Church  in  America.  These  authorities  are  so  plain  and  positive 
in  their  statements,  and  so  respectable  as  to  character,  that  we  are 
not  permitted  to  doubt.  Yet  the  authorities  of  the  M.  E.  Church 
tell  us  that  the  episcopacy  is  derived  from  Mr.  Wesley,  that  he 
is  the  author  of  it.  Rev.  H.  B.  Bascom  in  his  "  Review  of  the 
Manifesto' of  the  Majority,"  tells  us  "  the  full  validity  of  our 
episcopacy  as  exclusively  derivedfrom  Wesley  must  be  admitted  or 
we  have  noneVf  In  reply  to  this  proposition  of  Dr.  Bascom,  we 
assume  the  ground  that  if  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
derived  a  "valid  episcopacy  exclusively  from  Mr.  Wesley,"  no 
man  could  have  had  a  more  certain  knowledge  of  it  than  Mr. 
Wesley  himself,  nor  would  any  man  upon  earth  have  been  more 
free  to  confess  and  declare  the  same.  He  was  a  man  that  kept 
but  few  secrets.  Mr.  Charles  Wesley,  in  writing  to  a  friend 
about  his  brother  John,  uses  the  following  language,  "You  ex- 
pect he  will  keep  his  own  secrets !  Let  me  whisper  it  into  your 
ear,  he  never  could  doit  since  he  was  born.     It  is  a  gift  which  God 

*  See  Defence  of  Truth  by  Rev.  A.  McCaine,  pp.  98-9. 
f  Review  of  the  Manifesto  of  the  Majority,  p.  133 


APPENDIX. 


371 


has  not  given  me."*  Therefore  we  assume  the  position  that  "  the 
full  validity  of  Methodist  episcopacy"  never  has  been,  and  never 
can  be  proved  by  any  act  or  acknowledgment  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Wesley;  but  the  vanity  and  nothingness  of  the  thing,  as  well  as 
the  unreasonable  and  improper  pretensions  and  claims  of  Dr. 
Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  to  the  title  of  li  bisliop,"  by  the  declarations 
of  Mr.  Wesley  over  his  own  proper  name,  we  regard  as  being 
easily  established. 

Soon  after  the  transactions  that  look  place  in  the  conference  of 
1787  became  known  in  England,  and  Mr.  Wesley  was  fully 
apprised  that  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  had  so  arranged  matters 
in  America,  and  that  they  were  wearing  the  dignified  and  prelatical 
title  of  "bishop,"  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Asbury  the  following  letter: 

London,  September  20,  1788. 
There  is  indeed  a  wide  difference  between  the  relation  wherein 
you  stand  to  the  Americans  and  the  relation  wherein  1  stand  to 
all  the  Methodists.  You  are  the  elder  brother  of  the  American 
Methodists;  I  am  under  God  the  father  of  the  whole  family. 
Therefore  I  naturally  care  for  you  all  in  a  manner  no  other  person 
can  do.  Therefore  f  in  a  measure  provide  for  you  all  ;  for  the 
supplies  which  Dr.  Coke  provides  for  you,  he  could  not  provide 
were  it  not  for  me — were  it  not  that  I  not  only  permit  him  to  col- 
lect, but  support  him  in  so  doing. 

But  in  one  point,  my  dear  brother,  I  am  a  little  afraid  both  the 
doctor  and  you  differ  from  me.  1  study  to  be  little,  you  study  to 
be  great.  I  creep ;  you  strut  along.  I  found  a  school ;  you  a 
college.  Nay,  and  call  it  after  your  own  names  !  0,  beware  ! 
Do  not  seek  to  be  something!  Let  me  be  nothing,  and  Christ  be 
all  in  all. 

One  instance  of  this  your  greatness  has  given  me  great  con- 
cern. How  can  you,  how  dare  you  suffer  yourself  to  be  called  a 
bvshojy?  I  shudder,  I  start  at  the  very  thought.  Men  may  call 
me  a  knave,  or  a  fool,  a  rascal,  a  scoundrel,  and  I  am  content;  but 
they  shall  never  by  my  consent  call  me  a  bishop!  For  my  sake, 
for  God's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  put  a  full  end  to  this  !  Let  the 
Presbyterians  do  what  they  please,  but  let  the  Methodists  know 
their  calling  better. 

*  Whitehead's  Life  of  Wesley,  vol.  ii,  p.  227. 


372 


APPENDIX. 


Thus,  my  dear  Franky,  I  have  told  you  all  that  is  in  my  heart; 
and  let  this,  when  I  am  no  more  seen,  bear  witness  how  sincerely 
I  am  your  affectionate  friend  and  brother.* 

John  Wesley. 

Can  any  man  suppose  that  the  pious  and  venerable  Wesley,  of 
morals  so  pure,  of  intentions  so  upright,  could  thus  address  one 
whom  he  regarded  as  a  bishop  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
in  a  valid  or  legitimate  sense  ?  Never;  no,  never.  Can  any  one 
believe  that  Mr.  Wesley  would  appoint  or  ordain  Coke  and 
Asbury  bishops  in  the  church,  and  then  say  to  them,  "  men  may 
call  me  a  knave,  or  a  fool,  a  rascal,  a  scoundrel,  and  1  am  content; 
but  they  shall  never  by  my  consent  call  me  a  bishop  ?"  Surely 
not.  That  illustrious  man,  who  was  great  in  goodness,  could  not 
be  guilty  of  such  inconsistency  and  impropriety  of  conduct.  His 
letter  to  Mr.  Asbury  is  a  sharp  one.  He  saw  the  effort  on  the 
part  of  the  two  superintendents  to  elevate  themselves  in  the 
church,  by  departing  from  what  he  conceived  to  be  the  sphere  of 
duty  and  propriety;  and  as  the  case  was  a  desperate  one,  the 
honest,  frank  and  sharp  rebuke  contained  in  the  preceding  letter, 
was  the  remedy  he  saw  proper  to  offer.  Therefore  we  arrive  at 
the  conclusion,  from  the  language  of  the  letter  above,  that  "  the 
full  validity  of  episcopacy,  as  exclusively  derived  from  Mr. 
Wesley,"  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 
If  Mr.  Wesley  had  created  Dr.  Coke  a  "  bishop,"  it  would  have 
been  folly  in  the  extreme  for  him  to  say  to  Mr.  Asbury, 
"  for  my  sake,  for  God's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  put  a  full  end  to 
this."     But,  ah!  the  much-loved  title  was  not  put  away. 

From  Lee's  History  of  the  Methodists  we  learn  that  in  the 
year  1789  "the  bishops  introduced  a  question  into  the  annual 
minutes  which  was  as  follows: 

|;  "  Q.  Who  are  the  persons  that  exercise  the  episcopal  office  in 
the  Methodist  Church  in  Europe  and  America  ? 

"  A.  John  Wesley,  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury,  hy 
regular  order  and  succession." 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  in  1787  the  name  of  Mr. 
Wesley  had  been  left  out  of  the  minutes,  and  no  reason  assigned 

*See  Moore's  Life  of  Wesley,  vol.  ii,  p.  285. 


APPENDIX.  6(0 

for  the  same.  And  we  now  find  his  name  two  years  afterwards 
restored  to  the  minutes  as  one  of  the  persons  filling  or  exercising 
the  episcopal  office  in  Europe  and  America.  The  fallacy  of  this 
declaration  is  obvious,  and  the  inconsistency  involved  is  most 
glaring,  when  we  recall  to  mind  the  declarations  of  Mr.  Wesley 
to  Mr.  Asbury  the  preceding  year: — "  Men  may  call  me  a  knave, 
a  fool,  a  rascal,  a  scoundrel,  and  I  am  content;  but  they  shall 
never,  by  my  consent,  call  me  a  bishop !"  and  added,  "  For  my 
sake,  for  God's  sake,  for  Christ's  sake,  put  a  full  end  to  this!" 
Strange  to  relate,  these  two  Britons,  with  these  declarations  of 
Mr.  Wesley  as  it  were  still  ringing  in  their  ears,  after  having  two 
years  before  left  off  his  name  from  their  minutes,  now  bring  it 
back,  and  not  only  reinstate  it,  but  place  it  u-ith  their  own  in  the 
answer  to  the  above  question  ;  and  generations  to  come  are  to 
understand,  from  that,  that  John  Wesley  was  one  of  the  bishops  of 
the  Methodist  Church  in  Europe  and  America;  a  name  which  he 
held  in  more  abhorrence  than  he  did  that  of  rascal  or  scoundrel. 

Mr.  Lee  says  :  "  The  bishops  introduced  this  question  into  the 
minutes;"  therefore  we  are  left  to  understand  that  the  confer- 
ences had  no  band  in  the  strange  affair.  As  we  do  not  pretend  to 
know  the  heart  of  any  man,  we  shall  not  undertake  to  determine 
the  object  had  in  view  by  these  American  "  superintendents,"  in 
placing  the  name  of  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  with  theirs  as  one  of 
the  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Church.  It  is  enough  to  say  it 
suited  their  purpose,  therefore  they  did  it.  But  perhaps  some 
adherent  of  the  ancient  order  of  things  might  argue,  as  Dr.  Emory 
once  did,  in  order  to  evade  a  difficulty,  "  They  did  enter  him  as 
exercising  the  episcopal  office,  but  they  did  not  entitle  him 
bishop."  To  which  we  would  answer  in  the  language  of  the 
Rev.  A.  McCaine,  "To  deny  that  Mr.  Wesley  was  a  bishop, 
merely  because  he  was  only  entered  '  as  exercising  the  episcopal 
office,'  is  to  deny  that  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  were  bishops, 
for  they  were  entered  in  the  same  way  in  the  same  answer.  If, 
therefore,  it  was  necessary  to  constitute  Mr.  Wesley  a  bishop  to 
enter  him  by  that  title,  it  was  equally  necessary  to  enter  Dr.  Coke 
and  Mr.  Asbury  by  that  title  to  constitute  them  bishops."  * 

*  Defence  of  the  Truth,  page  114. 
32 


374  APPENDIX. 

From  the  testimony  which  we  have  produced  and  Jaid  down 
upon  the  preceding  pages  of  this  chaper,  it  must  be  apparent  to 
every  candid  reader  that  the  Rev.  John  Wesley  can  with  no  de- 
gree of  fairness  be  called  the  author  or  father  of  American  Meth- 
odist Episcopacy.  And  as  Dr.  Coke  is  said  to  be  the  first  born 
son  in  that  line,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  show  that  even  he 
placed  very  little  if  any  confidence  in  his  claims  to  the  legality  of 
his  birthright — the  episcopacy. 

Messrs.  Coke  and  Asbury  might  state,  as  they  had  set  forth  in 
the  Annual  Minutes  of  1789,  that  the  persons  "who  exercised 
episcopal  office  in  Europe  and  America  were  John  Wesley 
Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury,  by  regular  order  and  succes- 
sion;" but  knowing,  as  he  well  did,  the  firmness  with  which  Mr. 
Wesley  repudiated  all  such  pretensions  and  claims  to  the  title  of 
"  bishop,"  and  as  he  professed  to  derive  his  claims  to  that  office 
upon  Mr.  Wesley's  authority,  he  had  ample  reasons  for  becoming 
dissatisfied  with  the  validity  of  his  "  title,"  which  was  as  unsub- 
stantial as  a  "  gilded  toy,"  according  to  the  principles  laid  down 
and  the  definitions  given  by  the  best  writers  upon  ecclesiastical 
usages.  Early  in  the  year  1791  Dr.  Coke  opened  a  correspond- 
ence with  Bishop  White,  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
who  was  then  a  resident  at  Philadelphia.  The  object  proposed 
in  his  correspondence  was  a  union  of  the  Methodist  with  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church ;  the  re-ordination  of  the  ministers 
who  had  been  ordained  by  himself  and  Mr.  Asbury;  "there  was 
also  suggested  by  him  a  propriety,  but  not  a  condition  made,  of 
admitting  to  the  episcopacy  himself  and  the  gentleman  associated 
with  him  in  the  superintendence  of  the  Methodist  societies."  As 
this  correspondence  of  Dr.  Coke  with  the  bishop  is  calculated  to 
throw  much  light  upon  the  subject,  with  regard  to  the  views  he 
entertained  of  his  ordination  to  the  episcopacy,  we  shall  transcribe 
his  letter. 

Right  Reverend  Sir, — Permit  me  to  intrude  a  little  upon 
your  time,  upon  a  subject  of  great  importance. 

You,  I  believe,  are  conscious  that  I  was  brought  up  in  the 
Church  of  England,  and  have  been  ordained  a  presbyter  of  that 
church,     For  many  years  1  was  prejudiced,  even  I  think  to  bigotry, 


APPENDIX.  375 

in  favor  of  it;  but  through  a  variety  of  causes  and  incidents,  to 
mention  which  would  be  tedious  and  useless,  my  mind  was  ex- 
ceedingly biased  on  the  other  side  of  the  question.  In  consequence 
of  this,  I  am  not  sure  but  I  went  further  in  the  separation  of  our 
church  in  America  than  Mr.  Wesley,  from  whom  I  had  received 
my  commission,  did  intend.  He  did  indeed  solemnly  invest  me, 
as  far  as  he  had  a  right  so  to  do,  with  episcopal  authority,  but 
did  not  intend,  I  think,  that  our  entire  separation  should  take 
place.  He  being  pressed  by  our  fiiends  on  this  side  the  water 
for  ministers  to  administer  the  sacraments  to  them,  (there  being 
very  few  clergy  of  the  Church  of  England  in  the  states,)  went 
farther,  I  am  sure,  than  he  ivould  have  gone,  if  he  had  foreseen 
some  events  which  followed.  And  this  I  am  certain  of — that  he  is 
now  sorry  for  the  separation. 

But  what  can  be  done  for  a  reunion,  which  I  wish  for,  and  to 
accomplish  which,  Mr.  Wesley,  I  have  no  doubt,  would  use  his 
influence  to  the  utmost?  The  affection  of  a  very  considerable 
number  of  the  preachers  and  most  of  the  people,  is  very  strong 
towards  him,  notwithstanding  the  excessive  ill  usage  he  received 
from  a  few.  My  interest  also  is  not  small;  and  both  his  and 
mine  would  readily,  and  to  the  utmost,  be  used  to  accomplish  that 
(to  us)  very  desirable  object ;  if  a  readiness  were  shown  by  the 
bishops  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  to  re- unite. 

It  is  even  to  your  church  an  object  of  great  importance.  We  have 
now  above  60,000  adults  in  our  society  in  these  states  ;  and  about 
two  hundred  and  fifty  traveling  ministers  and  preachers  ;  besides  a 
great  number  of  local  preachers,  far  exceeding  the  number  of  travel- 
ing preachers,  and  some  of  these  local  preachers  are  men  of  very 
considerable  abilities;  but  if  we  number  the  Methodists  as  most 
people  number  the  members  of  their  church,  viz — by  the  families 
which  constantly  attend  the  divine  ordinances  in  theirplaces  of  wor- 
ship, they  will  make  a  larger  body  than  you  possibly  conceive. 
The  society,  I  believe,  may  be  safely  multiplied  by  five  on  an  aver- 
age, to  give  us  our  stated  congregations,  which  will  then  amount  to 
300,000.  And  if  the  calculation,  which  I  think  some  eminent 
writers  have  made,  be  just,  that  three-fifths  of  mankind  are  unadult, 
(if  I  may  use  the  expression,)  at  any  given  period,  it  will  follow 
that  all  the  families,  the  adults,  which  form  our  congregations  in 
these  states  amount  to  750,000.    About  one-fifth  of  these  are  blacks. 


376  .APPENDIX. 

The  work  now  extends  in  length  from  Boston  to  the  south 
of  Georgia;  and  in  breadth,  from  the  Atlantic  to  Lake  Champlain, 
Vermont,  Albany,  Redstone,  Holstein,  Kentucky,  Cumberland,  &c. 

But  there  are  many  hindrances  in  the  way.  Can  they  be  re- 
moved ? 

[  1.  Our  ordained  ministers  will  not,  ought  not  to  give  up  their 
right  of  administering  the  sacraments.  I  do  not  think  that  the 
generality  of  them,  perhaps  none  of  them,  would  refuse  to  submit 
to  a  reordination,  if  other  hindrances  were  removed  out  of  the  way. 
I  must  here  observe  that  between  sixty  and  seventy  only,  out  of 
the  two  hundred  and  fifty,  have  been  ordained  presbyters,  and  about 
sixty  deacons  (only.)    The  presbyters  are  the  choicestof  the  whole. 

2  The  preachers  would  hardly  submit  to  re-union  if  the  pos- 
sibility of  their  rising  up  to  ordination  depended  upon  the  present 
bishops  in  America.  Because,  though  they  are  all,  I  think  1  may 
say,  zealous,  pious,  and  very  useful  men,  yet  they  are  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  learned  languages.  Besides  they  would  argue, 
if  the  present  bishops  would  waive  the  article  of  the  learned  lan- 
guages, yet  their  successors  might  not. 

My  desire  of  a  re-union  is  so  sincere  and  earnest,  that  these 
difficulties  make  me  tremble;  and  yet  something  must  he  done 
before  the  death  of  Mr.  Wesley,  otherwise  I  shall  despair  of  success; 
for  though  my  influence  among  the  Methodists  in  these  States,  as 
well  as  in  Europe,  is  1  doubt  not  increasing,  yet  Mr.  Asbury 
whose  influence  is  very  capital,  will  not  easily  comply  ;  nay,  I  know 
he  icill  be  exceedingly  averse  to  it. 

In  Europe,  where  some  steps  had  been  taken  tending  to  a  sepa- 
ration, all  is  at  an  end.  Mr.  Wesley  is  a  determined  enemy  of  it, 
and  1  have  lately  borne  an  open  and  successful  testimony  against  it. 

Shall  I  be  favored  with  a  private  interview  with  you  in  Phila- 
delphia? 1  shall  be  there,  God  willing,  on  Tuesday,  the  17th  of 
May.  tf  this  be  agreeable,  I'll  beg  of  you  just  to  signify  it  in  a 
note  directed  to  me  at  Mr.  Jacob  Baker's,  merchant,  Market 
street,  Philadelphia;  or  if  you  please  by  a  few  lines  sent  me  by 
the  return  of  the  post,  at  Philip  Rogers',  Esq.,  in  Baltimore,  from 
yourself  or  Dr.  Magaw;  and  I  will  wait  upon  you  with  my 
friend  Dr.  Magaw.     We  can  then  enlarge  upon  the  subjects. 

I  am  conscious  of  it  that  secrecy  is  of  great  importance  in  the 


APPENDIX.  6  ii 

present  state  of  the  business,  till  the  minds  of  you,  your  brother 
bishops,  and  Mr.  Wesley,  be  circumstantially  known.  I  must 
therefore  beg  that  these  things  be  confined  to  yourself  and  Dr. 
Magaw,  till  1  have  the  honor  of  seeing  you. 

Thus  you  see  that  I  have  made  a  bold  venture  on  your  honor 
and  candor,  and  have  opened  my  whole  heart  to  you  on  the 
subject  as  far  as  the  extent  of  a  small  letter  will  allow  me.  If 
you  put  equal  confidence  in  me,  you  will  find  me  candid  and 
faithful. 

I  have  notwithstanding  been  guilty  of  inadvertences.  Very 
lately  I  found  myself  obliged  (for  the  pacifying  of  my  conscience) 
to  write  a  penitential  letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jarrett,  which  gave 
him  great  satisfaction ;  and  for  the  same  reason  I  must  write 
another  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pettigrew. 

When  I  was  last  in  America,  I  prepared  and  corrected  a  great 
variety  of  things  for  our  magazine,  indeed  almost  every  thing 
that  was  printed,  except  some  loose  hints  which  I  had  taken  of 
one  of  my  journeys,  and  which  I  left  in  my  hurry  with  Mr.  As- 
bury,  without  any  correction,  entreating  him  that  no  part  of  them 
might  be  printed  which  could  be  improper  or  offensive.  But 
through  great  inadvertency  (I  suppose)  he  suffered  some  reflec- 
tions on  the  characters  of  the  two  above  mentioned  gentlemen  to 
be  inserted  in  the  magazine,  for  which  I  am  very  sorry ;  and 
probably  shall  not  rest  till  I  have  made  my  acknowledgments 
more  public — though  Mr.  Jarrett  does  not  desire  it. 

I  am  not  sure  whether  I  have  not  also  offended  you,  sir,  by 
accepting  one  of  the  offers  made  me  by  you  and  Dr.  Magaw  of 
the  use  of  one  of  your  churches,  about  six  years  ago,  on  my  first 
visit  to  Philadelphia,  without  informing  you  of  our  plan  of  sepa- 
ration from  the  Church  of  England.  If  1  did  offend,  (as  I  doubt 
I  did,  especially  from  what  you  said  to  Mr.  Richard  Dallam  of 
Abingdon,)  I  sincerely  beg  yours  and  Dr.  Magaw' ;  pardon.  I'll 
endeavor  to  amend.     But,  alas !  I  am  a  frail,  weak  creature. 

I  will  intrude  no  longer  at  present.  One  thing  only  I  will 
claim  from  your  candor:  that  if  you  have  no  thought  of  improv- 
ing this  proposal,  you  will  burn  this  letter  and  take  no  more 
notice  of  it,  (for  it  would  be  a  pity  to  have  us  entirely  alienated 
from  each  other,  ii  we  cannot  unite  in  the  manner  my  ardent 
32* 


378  APPENDIX. 

wishes  desire,)  but  if  you  will  further  negotiate  business,  I  will 
explain  my  mind  still  more  fully  to  you  on  the  probabilities  of 
success. 

In  the  meantime  permit  me,  with  great  respect,  to  subscribe 
myself,  right  reverend  sir, 

Your  very  humble  servant  in  Christ, 

Thomas  Coke. 
The  Rt.  Rev.  Father  in  God,  Bishop  White. 
Richmond,  April  24,  1791. 
P.  S.  You   must  excuse  interlineations,  &c.     I  am  just  going 
into  the  country  and  have  no  time  to  transcribe. 

Dr.  Coke  in  this  letter  to  Bishop  White  having  proposed  an  in- 
terview with  that  gentleman,  accordingly  waited  upon  him,  upon 
his  arrival  in  Philadelphia.  The  substance  of  the  conversation 
that  passed  between  them  has  been  given  to  the  world  in  a  letter 
from  Bishop  White  to  one  of  his  friends.  The  following  is  an 
extract. 

Philadelphia,  July  30,  1804. 
Reverend  Sir: 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1791,  I  received  a  letter  from  Dr. 
Coke,  on  the  subject  of  uniting  the  Methodist  Society  with  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  An  answer  was  returned.  In  con- 
sequence of  which,  Dr.  Coke,  on  his  coming  to  town  made  me  a 
visit,  having  not  then  received  my  letter,  but  having  heard  that  1 
had  written.  Our  conversation  turned  chiefly  on  the  aforesaid 
subject.  The  general  outlines  of  Dr.  Coke's  plan  were  a  re- 
ordination  of  the  Methodist  ministers,  and  their  continuing  under 
the  superintendence  then  existing,  and  on  the  practices  of  their 
peculiar  institutions.  There  was  also  suggested  by  him  a  pro- 
priety, but  not  a  condition  made,  of  admitting  to  the  episcopacy, 
himself  and  tht!.  gentleman  associated  with  him  in  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  Methodist  societies.  This  intercourse  was  com- 
municated at  that  time  from  Dr.  Coke  to  Dr.  Magaw.  I  do  not 
know  of  any  other  person  then  informed  of  it,  unless  I  may  ex- 
cept the  gentleman  above  alluded  to,  by  whom,  if  I  have  been 
rightly  informed,  my  letter  to  Dr.  Coke  was  opened  in  his  ab- 
sence; such  a  freedom  being  understood,  as  I  supposed,  to  arise 


APPENDIX.  379 

out  of  the  connection  between  the  two  gentlemen.  But  for  this  part 
of  the  statement  I  cannot  vouch.  It  was  understood  between  Dr. 
Coke  and  me  that  the  proposal  should  be  communicated  to  the 
bishops  of  the  Episcopal  Church  at  the  next  convention,  which 
was  to  be  in  September,  1792.  in  New  York.  This  was  accord- 
ingly done.  After  which  1  perceived  no  use  of  further  commu- 
nication on  the  subject ;  and  1  have  not  since  seen  Dr.  Coke,  nor 
heard  from  him,  nor  written  to  him. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  above  comprehends  either  explicitly, 
or  by  implication,  all  the  points  to  which  your  letter  leads.  It 
wrould  have  been  more  agreeable  to  me,  if  no  occasion  of  this 
testimony  had  occurred ;  and  it  is  now  given  merely  to  prevent 
the  matter  being  understood  otherwise  than  it  really  is. 

The  above  is  what  I  have  written  to  Mr.  McClaskey :  and  I 
remain,  &c.  &c.  Your  aliectionate  brother, 

William  White.* 

From  what  is  brought  to  light  in  the  two  preceding  letters  of 
Dr.  Coke  and  Bishop  White,  it  is  evident  that  the  doctor  placed 
no  reliance  upon  the  validity  of  his  title  to  the  episcopacy.  But 
upon  the  contrary,  the  admissions  and  acknowledgments  which 
he  makes  all  go  directly  to  confirm  and  sustain  ihe  propositions 
which  we  have  laid  down,  that  John  Wesley  never  constituted 
Dr.  Coke  a  bishop;  and  that  his  pretensions  to  the  episcopal 
office,  and  his  founding  them  upon  the  authority  of  Mr.  Wesley, 
all  amount  to  a  mere  nullity.  Of  this  Dr.  Coke  appears  to  have 
been  fully  sensible. 

We  now  proceed  to  notice  some  of  the  contents  of  the  doctor's 
letter,  and  in  the  first  place  invite  attention  to  this  particular  sen- 
tence :  "  He  (Wesley)  did  indeed  solemnly  invest  me,  as  far  as  he 
had  a  right  to  do  so,  with  episcopal  authority,  but  did  not  intend, 
I  think,  that  our  entire  separation  should  take  place."  Dr.  Coke 
had  been  brought  up  in  the  Church  of  England,  and  well  under- 
stood the  principles  laid  down  in  the  formulary  of  that  church. 
He  also  knew  that,  according  to  the  same,  a  presbyter  had  no 

*  See  History  and  Mystery  of  Methodist  Episcopacy,  by  Rev.  A. 
McCaine,  p.  27. 


3S0  APPENDIX. 

"authority"  to  ordain  or  consecrate  a  presbyter  to  the  episcopal 
office.  He  well  knew  that  Bishop  White  had  been  ordained  to 
the  episcopacy  by  the  proper  authorises  in  England,  as  laid 
down  in  the  formulary  of  the  established  church;  that  he  sub- 
scribed to  the  doctrines  and  principles  of  that  formulary:  and 
therefore,  when  Dr.  Coke  said  to  Bishop  White,  "He  did  indeed 
solemnly  invest  me,  as  far  as  he  had  a  right  so  to  do,  with  episco- 
pal authority,"  he  as  a  matter  of  course  well  understood  and 
believed  that  the  bishop  knew  the  Rev.  John  Wesley,  a  presbyter 
of  the  Church  of  England,  had  no  authority,  whatever,  to  invest 
any  man  loilh  "episcopal  authority,'"  and  that  all  such  inveslure 
amounted  to  nothing  more  than  a  perfect  nullity,  and  consequently 
could  be  regarded  in  no  other  light. 

Again,  the  propositions  in  the  letter  of  Dr.  Coke  to  Bishop 
White,  in  relation  to  a  union  of  the  Methodist  and  Protestant 
Episcopal  Churches,  appear  to  have  been  made  by  the  doctor, 
without  consulting  his  colleague,  Mr.  Asbury,  or  the  traveling 
preachers,  or  the  sosieties,  or  even  Mr.  Wesley. 

It  was  a  secret  business.  None  of  these  were  consulted.  The 
project  originated  in  his  own  mind  ;  and  we  find  him  willing  to 
transfer  the  Methodist  Church,  without  consulting  either  the 
preachers  or  laity,  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  No  man 
will  presume  to  assert  that  Dr.  Coke  had  any  authority  whatever 
for  making  the  overtures,  which  he  did,  to  Bishop  White.  It  was 
done  without  authority.  It  was  done  without  the  knowledge  or 
expectation  of  any  of  the  departments  of  the  church,  for  they 
expected  better  things  at  his  hands,  and  well  he  might  say  to  the 
bishop,  "  I  am  conscious  of  it  that  secrecy  is  of  great  importance 
in  the  present  state  of  the  business." 

The  next  thing  which  we  shall  notice  is  that  most  remarkable 
and  striking  suggestion  which  Dr.  Coke  made  in  his  private  in- 
terview with  Bishop  White.  The  bishop,  enumerating  in  his 
letter  the  outlines  of  the  plan  of  Dr.  Coke,  says,  "  There  was 
also  suggested  by  him  a  propriety,  but  not  a  condition  made, 
of  admittiiig  to  the  episcopacy,  himself  and  the  gentleman 
associated  with  him  in  the  superintendence  of  the  Methodist 
societies. 

Here  then  we  have  another  tacit  acknowledgment  on  the  part 


APPENDIX.  381 

of  the  doctor,  that  he  did  not  regard  himself  as  being  invested 
with  the  functions  of  a  bishop  as  understood  among  churchmen. 
In  his  letter  to  the  bishop  he  had  stated,  "  I  don't  think  that  the 
generality  of  them,  (the  ministers,)  perhaps  none  of  them,  would 
refuse  to  submit  to  a  re-ordination,  if  other  hindrances  were  re- 
moved out  of  the  way."  These  ministers  had  been  ordained  by 
Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury,  and  if  they  were  "bishops,"  their 
right  to  ordain  others  to  the  ministry  according  to  the  practice 
of  the  English  Church  was  unquestionable.  If  Dr.  Coke 
was  willing  that  these  ministers  should  be  re-oidained,  it 
was  a  tacit  admission  that  he  and  Mr.  Asbury  had  no  right  to 
ordain,  and  the  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  doctor  was  ac- 
tually making  an  effort  at  negotiation  for  their  re-ordination. 
Taking  whatever  view  of  this  affair  we  may,  we  are  forced  to 
the  conclusion  that  if  Dr.  Coke  regarded  himself  as  a  bishop, 
his  conduct  is  passing  strange. 

The  suggestion  of  the  doctor  to  the  bishop,  of  the  propriety  of 
"admitting  to  the  episcopacy  "  himself  and  the  gentleman  asso- 
ciated with  him,  seems  to  betray  altogether  an  absence  of  that 
modesty  which  should  mark  the  movements  of  the  ministers  of 
Christ,  and  which  should  certainly  pertain  to  one  who  professed 
to  belong  to  an  order  of  ministers  above  that  of  presbyter.  But 
the  doctor  wished  to  take  rank  with  the  episcopacy,  and  as  prac- 
tical authority  suited  his  views  and  feelings  best — and  if  we  may 
infer  from  this  action  of  the  man,  he  did  not  consider  himself  in 
any  valid  or  ecclesiastical  sense  of  the  term  a  bishop,  as  under- 
stood by  those  brought  up  in  the  English  Church, — and  "  secrecy 
being  important  in  the  present  state  of  the  business,"  and  no  one 
being  ready  or  prepared  to  represent  his  claims  to  the  episcopacy, 
he  took  the  initiative  himself.  And — shall  it  be  written  ? — 
"  Bishop"  Coke  "  suggested  the  propriety  of  his  being  admitted 
to  the  episcopacy." 

Such  claims,  such  pretensions,  and  such  proceedings  as  we 
have  detailed  with  regard  to  the  introduction  of  episcopacy  into 
the  Methodist  Church  in  America,  can  scarcely  find  a  parallel  in 
ecclesiastical  history  since  the  reformation.  But  these  projects  of 
Dr.  Coke  all  failed.  He  had  declared  in  his  letter  to  Bishop 
White,  that  "  something  must  be  done  before  Ike  death  of  Mr. 


382 


APPENDIX. 


Wesley,  otherwise  I  shall  despair  of  success."  It  had  been 
agreed  upon  between  him  and  Bishop  White  that  his  proposal  of 
a  union  between  the  two  churches  should  be  laid  before  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Convention  which  was  to  convene  in  New 
York,  in  September,  1792.  The  faithful  and  laborious  Wesley 
closed  his  useful  life  on  the  2d  day  of  March,  1791.  The  pro- 
ject of  Dr.  Coke  failed.  If  Mr.  Wesley  had  lived,  who  was 
strongly  attached  to  the  established  Church  of  England,  we  can- 
not tell  what  turn  affairs  might  have  taken,  or  what  would  have 
been  the  result  of  Dr.  Coke's  negotiations. 

The  motives  that  led  Dr.  Coke  to  take  these  steps  are  hard  to 
fathom.  He  had  been  in  the  practice  of  using  high-handed  mea- 
sures— such  it  is  presumed  as  he  thought  compatible  with  the 
prerogatives  of  his  episcopal  authority,  from  the  beginning  of  his 
connection  with  the  Methodists  in  America;  and  although  he 
was  recognized  by  them  as  "  one  of  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,"  yet  at  the  conference  at  Baltimore,  in  1787, 
they  cut  down  his  episcopal  authority  to  such  a  degree,  that  his 
position  as  a  "bishop"  was  rendered  quite  anomalous.  The  Rev. 
Jesse  Lee  says,  "  At  the  Baltimore  Conference  the  preachers 
complained  of  Dr.  Coke,  because  he  had  taken  upon  himself  a 
right  which  they  never  gave  him,  of  altering  the  time  and  place 
of  holding  our  Conference,  after  it  had  been  settled  and  fixed  on 
at  the  previous  conference.  Another  complaint  was  brought 
against  him  for  writing  improper  letters  to  some  of  our  preachers, 
such  as  were  calculated  to  stir  up  strife  and  contentions  among 
them." 

At  that  time  the  doctor  saw  that  the  preachers  were  pretty  gen- 
erally united  against  him,  he  acknowledged  his  faults,  begged 
pardon,  and  promised  not  to  meddle  with  our  affairs  again  when 
he  was  out  of  the  United  States.  .  He  then  gave  in  writing  a  cer- 
tificate to  the  same  purpose,  which  is  as  follows : 

CERTIFICATE  OF  DR.  COKE  TO  THE  CONFERENCE. 

I  do  solemnly  engage  by  this  instrument,  that  I  never  will, 
by  virtue  of  my  office,  as  superintendent  of  the  Methodist  Church, 
during  my  absence  from  the  United  States  of 'America,  exercise 
any  government  in  the  said  Methodist  Church  during  my  absence 


APPENDIX.  3S3 

from  the  United  States.  And  I  do  also  engage  that  1  will  exer- 
cise no  privilege  in  the  said  church  when  present  in  the  United 
States,  except  that  of  ordaining  according  to  the  regulations  and 
law  already  existing,  or  hereafter  to  be  made  in  the  said  church, 
and  that  of  presiding  when  present  in  conference,  and  lastly, 
that  of  traveling  at  large. 

Given  under  my  hand  the  second  day  of  May,  in  the  year  1787. 

Thomas  Coke. 
Witnesses,  John  Tunnil, 
John  Hagerty, 
Nelson  Reed. 

The  preachers  then  agreed  to  forgive  what  was  past,  provided 
this  condition  should  be  expressed  in  the  minutes,  which  was 
done  thus: 

"  Q.  Who  are  the  superintendents  of  our  church  for  the  United 
States. 

"  A.  Thomas  Coke  (when  present  in  the  States)  and  Francis 
Asbury." 

The  position  in  which  the  preceding  certificate  which  Dr.  Coke 
was  required  to  give,  and  the  condition  thus  expressed  in  the 
minutes,  had  placed  him,  was  such  that  his  claims  to  "episcopal 
authority"  may  be  justly  controverted  on  every  side.  If  Dr. 
Coke  was  a  "  bishop"  at  all,  in  a  proper  ecclesiastical  sense  of 
that  term,  he  was  as  much  a  "bishop"  when  in  Europe  as  he 
was  when  in  the  United  States.  If  he  had  been  consecrated  a 
"bishop"  by  the  imposition  of  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  John  Wes- 
ley, as  a  matter  of  course,  his  "episcopal  authority"  over  his 
bishopric  was  the  same,  unchanged  and  unchangeable,  wherever 
he  was,  so  long  as  he  held  that  official  station.  The  Rev.  James 
O'Kelley,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  transactions  that  took  place 
at  this  conference,  says,  "  the  free  people  of  America  were  ex- 
ceedingly jealous  of  the  growing  body  of  Methodists,  because  of 
the  European  heads;"  but  we  are  not  aware  that  such  feelings 
could  have  influenced  the  conference  in  its  action  in  the  case  of 
Dr.  Coke.  Mr.  Asbury  likewise  was  from  the  same  land  of 
"bishops  and  kings,"  and  yet  the  conference  saw  proper  to  "clip 
the  wings"  of  the  former  as  regards  the  exercise  of  his  "  episco- 


3S4 


APPENDIX. 


pal  authority,"  and  at  the  same  time  left  the  other  untrammeled 
in  the  exercise  of  the  functions  of  his  office.  But  such  was  the 
character  of  Methodist  Episcopacy  in  1787.  Such  was  its  char- 
acter in  1791,  when  Dr.  Coke  attempted  to  negotiate  with  Bishop 
White  to  effect  a  union  between  the  Methodist  and  Protestant 
Episcopal  Churches.  And  yet  Dr.  Bascom,  one  of  the  champions 
of  southern  Methodism,  in  speaking  of  this  same  "  episcopacy," 
uses  the  following  remarkable  language:  "Not  only  had  the 
General  Conference  done  nothing  toward  the  institution  of  episco- 
pacy, but  even  the  church  had  not.  Its  existence  dates  back 
before  the  birth  of  either.  It  was  the  first  grand  substantive 
arrangement  around  which  all  others  subsequently  clustered  and 
assumed  organic  form."* 

Dr.  Bascom  has  written  this  remarkable  sentence  while  treat- 
ing of  the  character  of  Methodist  Episcopacy,  "the  full  validity 
of  our  episcopacy,  as  exclusively  derived  from  Wesley,  must  be 
admitted  or  we  have  none."  We  have  already  seen,  from  the  tes- 
timony before  us,  Dr.  Coke,  whose  name  stands  as  the  first  bora 
in  that  episcopal  line,  in  his  overtures  to  Bishop  White,  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  renouncing  "the full  validity''  of  his  claims 
to  the  episcopal  office,  ill  the  admissions  and  overtures  which  he 
made  to  that  gentleman.  Again,  we  find  Dr.  Coke,  eight  years 
afterwards,  petitioning  the  bishop  of  London  to  ordain  a  given 
number  of  preachers  proposed  by  the  British  Conference.!  How 
does  this  sound !  What  "  full  validity  "  do  we  find  set  forth  in  this 
act  ?  "Bishop"  Coke  of  the  Methodist  Church,  petitions  the 
Bishop  of  London,  of  the  English  Church,  to  ordain  "a  given 
number"  of  Methodist  preachers !  What  is  the  plain  inference 
to  be  drawn  from  this  transaction  ?  It  is  simply  this,  "Bishop" 
Coke  tacitly  admits  that  he  had  no  authority  to  ordain.  Why  ? 
Because  he  was  not  a  "  bishop." 

Again  we  find  Dr.  Coke  in  1813,  petitioning  some  of  the  most 
eminent  and  influential  British  statesmen,  who  stood  high  with 
the  government,  for  episcopal  orders,  and  proposing  a  willingness 
"  to  renounce  all  connection  with  the  Methodists  if  the  prince 
regent  would  only  make  him  bishop  for  India."     If  any  thing 

*  Review  of  the  Manifesto  of  the  Majority,  p.  160. 
t  See  Drew's  Life  of  Dr.  Coke,  page  288. 


APPENDIX.  3S5 

should  yet  be  wanting  to  satisfy  the  honest  advocates  of  "  Meth- 
odist Episcopacy"  that  Dr.  Coke  had  no  confidence  in  his  own 
claims  of  episcopacy — that  he.  was  no  bishop — and  that  some 
proceedings,  altogether  wrong,  were  had  in  the  formation  of  the 
government  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  surely  the  following  letter 
will.  It  is  copied  from  "  Wilberforce's  Correspondence,"  vol.  2, 
page  114,  and  kindly  furnished  me  by  my  much  esteemed  friend 
and  brother,  the  Rev.  Alexander  McCaine.     Here  is  the  letter. 

At  Samuel  Hague's,  Esq.,  Leeds,  April  14,  1813. 

Dear  and  Highlv  Respected  Sir, — A  subject  which  appears 
to  me  of  great  moment  lies  upon  my  mind,  and  yet  it  is  a  subject 
of  such  a  delicate  nature,  that  I  cannot  venture  to  open  my  mind 
upon  it  to  any  one  of  whose  candor,  piety,  delicacy  and  honor  I 
have  not  the  highest  opinion.  Such  a  character  I  do  indubitably 
esteem  you,  sir,  and  as  such  1  will  run  the  risk  of  opening  my 
whole  heart  to  you  upon  the  point. 

For  at  least  twelve  years,  sir,  the  interests  of  our  Indian  em- 
pire have  lain  very  near  my  heart.  In  several  instances  1  have 
made  attempts  to  open  a  way  for  missions  to  that  country,  and 
even  for  my  going  over  there  myself,  but  every  thing  proved 
abortive. 

The  prominent  desire  of  my  soul,  even  from  my  infancy  (I 
may  almost  say),  has  been  to  be  useful.  Even  when  I  wasadeist 
for  part  of  my  time  at  Oxford,  (what  a  miracle  of  grace  !)  useful- 
ness was  my  most  darling  object.  The  Lord  has  been  pleased  to 
fix  me  for  about  thirty-seven  years  on  a  point  of  great  usefulness. 
Myinfluence  in  the  large Wesleyan connexion,  the  introduction  and 
superintendence  of  our  missions  in  different  parts  of  the  globe, 
and  the  wide  sphere  opened  to  me  for  the  preaching  of  the  gospel 
to  almost  innumerable  large  and  attentive  congregations,  have 
opened  to  me  a  very  extensive  field  for  usefulness.  Could  I  but 
close  my  life  in  being  the  means  of  raising  a  spiritual  church 
in  India,  it  would  satisfy  the  utmost  ambition  of  my  soul  here 
below. 

1  am  not  so  much  wanted  in  our  connexion  at  home  as  I  once 
was.  Our  "  committee  of  privileges,"  as  we  term  it,  can  watch 
over  the  interests  of  the  body,  in  respect  to  laws  and  government, 
33 


386  APPENDIX. 

as  well  in  my  absence  as  if  I  was  with  them.  Our  missionary 
committee  in  London  can  do  the  same  in  respect  to  missions,  and 
would  only  make  them  feel  their  duty  more  incumbent  upon 
them.  Auxiliary  committees  through  the  nation,  (which  we 
have  now  in  contemplation,)  will  amply  supply  my  place  in 
respect  to  raising  money.  There  is  nothing  to  influence  me  much 
against  going  to  India,  but  my  extensive  sphere  for  preaching  the 
gospel.  But  this  I  do  assure  you,  sir,  sinks  considerably  in  my 
calculation  in  comparison  of  the  high  honor,  (if  the  Lord  was  to 
confer  it  upon  me  in  his  providence  and  grace,)  of  beginning  or 
reviving  a  genuine  work  of  religion  in  the  immense  regions  of 
Asia. 

Impressed  with  these  views,  I  wrote  a  letter  about  a  fortnight 
ago  to  the  earl  of  Liverpool.  I  have  either  mislaid  the  copy  of  it 
or  destroyed  it  at  the  time  for  fear  of  its  falling  into  improper 
hands.  After  an  introduction  drawn  up  in  the  most  delicate  man- 
ner in  my  power,  I  took  notice  of  the  observations  made  by  Lord 
Castlereagh  in  the  House  of  Commons,  concerning  a  religious 
establishment  in  India  connected  with  the  established  church  at 
home.  I  then  simply  opened  my  situation  in  the  Wesleyan 
connection  as  1  have  stated  to  you,  sir,  above.  I  enlarged  on  the 
earnest  desire  I  had  of  closing  my  life  in  India:  observing  that  if 
his  royal  highness  the  prince  regent  and  the  government  should 
think  proper  to  appoint  me  their  bishop  in  India,  I  should  most 
cheerfully  and  most  gratefully  accept  the  offer.  I  am  sorry  I 
have  lost  the  copy  of  this  letter.  In  my  letter  to  Lord  Liverpool 
I  observed  that  I  should,  in  case  of  my  appointment  to  the 
episcopacy  of  India,  return  most  fully  and  faithfully  into  the 
bosom  of  the  established  church,  and  do  every  thing  in  my  power 
to  promote  its  interest,  and  would  submit  to  all  such  restrictions 
in  the  fulfilment  of  my  office  as  the  government  and  bench  of 
bishops  at  home  should  think  necessary.  That  my  prime  motive 
was  to  be  useful  to  the  Europeans  in  India ;  and  that  my  second 
(though  not  the  least)  was  to  introduce  the  Christian  religion 
among  the  Hindoos  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  and  perhaps 
also  by  the  establishment  of  schools. 

I  have  not,  sir,  received  an  answer.  Did  I  think  that  the 
answer  was  either  withheld  because  Lord  Liverpool  considered 


APPENDIX. 


387 


me  as  acting  very  improperly  by  making  the  request,  I  should 
take  no  farther  step  in  the  business.  This  may  be  the  case,  but 
his  lordship's  silence  may  have  arisen  from  other  motives:  on 
the  one  hand  because  he  did  not  choose  to  send  me  an  absolute 
refusal,  and  on  the  other  hand  because  he  did  not  see  proper,  at 
least  just  now,  to  give  me  any  encouragement.  When  I  was  in 
doubt  this  morning  whether  I  ought  to  take  the  liberty  of  writing 
to  you,  my  mind  became  determined  on  my  being  informed  about 
three  hours  ago,  that  in  a  letter  received  from  you  by  Mr.  Hey, 
you  observed  that  the  generality  of  the  House  of  Commons  were 
set  against  granting  any  thing  of  an  imperative  kind  to  the  Dis- 
senters or  Methodists  in  favor  of  sending  missionaries  to  India. 
Probably  I  may  err  in  respect  to  the  exact  words  which  you  used. 

I  am  not  conscious,  my  dear,  respected  sir,  that  the  least  degree 
of  ambition  influences  me  in  this  business.  I  possess  a  fortune 
of  £1,200  a  year,  which  is  sufficient  to  bear  my  traveling  ex- 
penses, and  to  enable  me  to  make  many  charitable  donations.  I 
have  lost  two  dear  wives,  and  am  now  a  widower.  Our  leading 
friends  through  the  connection  receive  me  and  treat  me  with  the 
utmost  respect  and  hospitality.  I  am  quite  surrounded  with 
fiiends  who  greatly  love  me  :  but  India  still  cleaves  to  my  heart. 
I  sincerely  believe  that  my  strong  inclinations  to  spend  the  re- 
mainder of  my  life  in  India  originated  in  the  divine  will,  whilst  I 
am  called  upon  to  use  the  secondary  means  to  obtain  the  end. 

1  have  formed  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  Dr.  Buchanan, 
and  have  written  to  him  to  inform  him  that  I  shall  make  him  a 
visit  in  a  few  days,  if  it  be  convenient.  From  his  house  1  intend, 
Deo  volante,  to  return  to  Leeds  for  a  day,  and  then  set  off  next 
week  for  London.  The  latter  end  of  last  November  I  visited 
him  before,  at  Moat  Hall,  his  place  of  residence,  and  a  most 
pleasant  visit  it  was  to  me,  and  also  to  him  I  have  reason  to 
think.  He  has  been,  since  I  saw  him,  drinking  of  the  same  bitter 
cup  of  which  I  have  been  drinking,  by  the  loss  of  a  beloved  wife. 

1  would  just  observe,  sir,  that  a  hot  climate  peculiarly  agrees 
with  me.  I  was  never  better  in  my  life  than  when  in  the  West 
Indies,  during  the  four  visits  I  made  to  that  Archipelago,  and 
should  now  prefer  the  torrid  zone  as  a  climate  to  any  part  of  the 
world.     I  enjoy  in  this  country,  though  sixty-five  years  of  age, 


:ss 


APPENDIX. 


such  an  uninterrupted  flow  of  health  and  strength  as  astonishes 
all  my  acquaintances.  They  commonly  observe  that  they  have 
perceived  no  difference  in  me  for  these  last  twenty  years. 

I  would  observe,  sir,  as  I  did  at  the  commencement,  that  I 
throw  myself  on  your  candor,  piety  and  honor.  If  I  do  not  suc- 
ceed in  my  views  of  India,  and  it  were  known  among  the 
preachers  that  1  had  been  taking  the  steps  I  am  now  taking, 
(though,  from  a  persuasion  that  I  am  in  the  divine  will  in  so 
doing,)  it  might  more  or  less  affect  my  usefulness  in  the  vineyard 
of  my  Lord,  and  that  would  very  much  afflict  me.  And  yet,  not- 
withstanding this,  1  cannot  satisfy  myself  without  some  advances 
in  the  business. 

I  consider,  sir,  your  brother-in-law,  Mr.  Stephen,  to  be  a  man 
of  eminent  worth.  I  have  a  very  high  esteem  for  him.  ]  know 
that  his  yea  is  yea,  and  what  he  promises  he  certainly  will  per- 
form. Without  some  promise  of  confidence  he  might  (if  he 
were  unacquainted  with  the  present  business)  mention  it  to 
Mr. ,  with  whom  1  know  Mr.  Stephen  is  acquainted. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  Lord  Eldon  had  (indeed  I  am  sure 
of  it)  and  probably  now  has  an  esteem  for  me.  Lord  Sidmouth 
I  do  think  loves  me.  Lord  Castlereagh  once  expressed  to  Mr. 
Alexander  Knox,  then  his  private  secretary  in  Ireland,  his  very 
high  regard  for  me;  since  that  time  I  have  had  one  interview  with 
his  lordship  in  London.  I  have  been  favored  on  various  occa- 
sions with  private  and  public  interviews  with  Lord  Bathurst.  I 
shall  be  glad  to  have  your  advice  whether  I  should  write  letters 
to  those  noblemen,  particularly  to  the  two  first,  on  the  present 
subject,  or  whether  I  had  not  better  suspend  every  thing  and  have 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  in  London.  I  hope  I  shall  have  that 
honor.  I  shall  be  glad  to  receive  three  or  four  lines  from  you 
(don't  write  unless  you  think  it  may  be  of  some  immediate  im- 
portance,) signifying  that  I  may  wait  on  you  immediately  on 

my   arrival    in    London.      If    Mr.    were   acquainted    with 

the  steps  I  am  taking,  he  would  I  am  nearly  sure  call  imme- 
diately a  meeting  of  our  committee  of  privileges,  and  the  conse- 
quences might  be  unfavorable  to  my  influence  and  consequently 
to  my  usefulness  among  the  Methodists.     But  my  mind  must- be 


APPENDIX.  3S9 

eased.     I   must  venture  this  letter  and  leave  the  whole  to  God, 
and  under  him,  sir,  to  you. 

With  very  high  respect,  my  dear  sir,  your  very  much  obliged, 
very  humble,  and  very  faithful  servant, 

T.  Coke. 

This  letter  is  the  most  remarkable  document  of  the  kind  we 
have  ever  read.  When  we  take  into  consideration  the  position 
of  its  author,  his  calling  and  character  before  the  world,  we  are 
forced  to  the  conclusion  that  it  must  stand  alone,  as  having  no 
parallel  among  all  the  petitions  of  office-hunters  or  the  seekers 
of  promotion  and  preferment  from  the  civil  authorities  and 
"  powers  that  be."  The  doctor's  letter  to  Bishop  White  was  bad 
enough,  considering  his  profession  and  calling;  but  this  one  to 
Mr.  Wilberforce  is  still  worse.  He  sets  out  in  his  introduction 
by  declaring  the  prominent  and  leading  desire  of  his  soul  to  be 
useful,  and  extolling  the  great  sphere  of  usefulness  in  which  he 
was  then  acting,  and  his  influence  in  the  large  Wesleyan  con- 
nexion. In  the  next  place  he  brings  to  view  the  ease  or  pro- 
priety with  which  he  could  be  released  from  his  sphere  of  use- 
fulness and  influence  in  Europe,  and  then  arrives  at  the  gist  of 
the  subject,  the  main  point  in  the  grand  question,  "  observing  that 
if  his  royal  highness  the  prince  regent  and  the  government 
should  think  proper  to  appoint  me  their  bishop  in  India,  I  should 
most  cheerfully  and  most  gratefully  accept  of  the  offer." 

Here  we  find  this  "  bishop"  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
a  second  time  presenting  himself  as  an  applicant  for  promotion  to 
the  episcopacy. 

1.  He  suggested  the  propriety  of  his  being  admitted  to  the 
episcopacy  in  the  United  States,  in  1791. 

2.  He  petitions  the  British  government  to  appoint  him  bishop 
to  India,  in  1813. 

Yet  the  historical  records  of  the  M.  E.  Church  teach  us  that 
Dr.  Coke  all  this  time  was  "  one  of  the  bishops  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church."  But  the  conduct  of  Dr.  Coke  contradicts  the 
assertion.  If  he  was  a  "  bishop "  in  his  own  estimation,  he 
never  would  have  petitioned  for  the  appointment  of  "  bishop " 
from  any  source  whatever.  But  it  appears  from  the  actions  of 
33* 


390  APPENDIX. 

the  man  that  promotion  suited  his  views  of  propriety  concerning 
himself,  and  that  episcopacy  was  a  "gilded  toy"  which  pleased 
his  fancy ;  that  no  possible  opportunity  therefore  was  suffered 
to  pass  unimproved  by  him  by  which  he  might  be  raised  to  the 
office  of  bishop.  The  preceding  letter  breathes  the  spirit  of 
vanity,  egotism  and  ambition.  He  coveted  the  office  of  bishop 
and  taking  his  own  case  into  his  own  hands,  laying  aside  all 
modesty,  he  becomes  a  petitioner  directly  to  the  British  govern- 
ment for  the  much-loved  and  long-sought  appointment.  If  he 
had  ever  received  or  had  been  invested  with  "episcopal  authority" 
by  Mr.  Wesley,  it  is  now  forgotten  or  lost  sight  of,  and  the  whole 
mind  of  the  man  is  absorbed  in  the  deep  interest  which  he  feels 
in  being  appointed  bishop  to  India.  He  does  not  write  as  a 
bishop ;  he  makes  no  pretensions  to  such  a  title  or  such  an  office, 
but  he  is  welting  that  office.  His  position  is  that  of  an  applicant 
before  those  whom  he  acknowledges  to  be  possessed  of  the 
power  to  bestow.  And  where  is  the  man  that  can  say,  in  view  of 
all  these,  things,  that  Dr.  Coke  had  any  legal  claims  to  the  office 
of  "  bishop  .'"  If  he  was  a  bishop  he  would  have  known  it.  If 
he  had  known  it  he  would  not  have  become  an  applicant  for  the 
office.     The  conclusion  then  is,  he  was  not  a  "  bishop." 

This  letter  of  Dr.  Coke  to  Mr.  Wilberforce  abounds  with  the 
most  fawning  flattery  and  sycophantic  adulation  that  we  have 
ever  read.  As  an  American,  we  declare  it  altogether  unworthy 
of  the  profession  of  the  man.  But  it  was  written  in  a  land  of 
"bishops  and  kings,"  by  one  whose  education  was  deeply  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  such  institutions,  and  where  flattery  often 
served,  instead  of  merit,  as  a  passport  to  promotion.  Were  it 
not  that  this  letter  comes  to  us  through  the  highly  respectable 
channel  which  it  does,  "  Letters  and  Correspondence  of  Mr.  Wil- 
berforce," we  should  hardly  be  prepared  to'  receive  it.  But  the 
name  and  character  of  Wilberforce  do  away  all  suspicion  that 
might  arise  as  to  the  authority  of  the  letter.  One  peculiar  feature 
likewise  is  to  be  found  in  it  which  belonged  to  the  letter  written 
to  Bishop  White,  viz:  the  injunction  of  secrecy. 

Dr.  Coke  was  a  subject  of  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and  his 
views  and  sentiments  no  doubt  were  far  from  being  of  the  republi- 
can mould.     In  the  part  which  he  took  in  organizing  the  govern- 


APPENDIX,  391 

ment  of  the  M.  E.  Church  the  principles  of  republicanism  seem  to 
have  entered  into  none  of  his  measures.  There  was  an  address 
drawn  up  and  presented  to  General  Washington,  president  of  the 
United  States,  and  signed  by  Thomas  Coke  and  Francis  Asbury, 
as  bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in  which  they 
lauded  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  declared  it  to  be 
•the  "admiration  of  the  world."  This  address  bears  date  "May 
19th,  1789."  For  signing  this  address  to  the  president  of  the 
United  States  Dr.  Coke  was  charged  before  the  British  Confer- 
ence; the  sentiments  which  it  set  forth  being  thought  by  the 
British  Conference  to  be  unworthy  of  a  subject  of  his  majesty. 
He  was  censured  for  this  act  by  his  name  being  left  off  the 
minutes  for  one  year. 

From  the  facts  and  circumstances  which  we  have  narrated,  it 
must  be  evident  that  the  episcopacy  which  exists  in  the  Method- 
ist Episcopal  Church  is  of  a  spurious  character.  We  have  not 
made  it  our  business  in  these  pages  to  go  into  a  detailed  account 
of  the  various  definitions  given  of  episcopacy  by  distinguished 
authors  who  have  treated  upon  the  subject,  but  will  simply  re- 
mark in  this  place,  that  among  all  the  definitions  of  ecclesiastical 
writers  of  good  authority,  not  one  of  them  suits  Methodist  Epis- 
copacy, or  rather  Methodist  Episcopacy  does  not  agree  with  any 
one  of  them. 

At  the  organization  of  the  M.  E.  Church  in  1784,  the  title  of 
superintendent  was  given  to  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury.  In  the 
general  minutes,  printed  in  1787,  the  word  superintendent  was 
left  out,  and  "bishop"  inserted,  and  at  the  ensuing  conference 
that  body  was  asked  if  the  word  "bishop"  might  stand,  seeing  it 
was  a  scriptural  name. 

At  the  same  time  Mr.  Wesley's  name  was  left  off  the  minutes. 

Rev.  James  O'Kelley  says,  "  this  cruel  act  was  thought  by  one 
to  hasten  the  death  of  dear  Wesley.  Did  not  Thomas  in  behalf 
of  Wesley,  explode  the  conduct  of  Francis  before  a  congregation 
in  the  city  of  Baltimore?" — Apology,  p.  12. 

In  1788,  John  Wesley  wrote  to  Mr.  Asbury,  saying,  "men 
may  call  me  a  knave,  or  a  fool,  a  rascal,  a  scoundrel,  and  I  am 
content;  but  they  shall  never  by  my  consent  call  me  a  bishop," 

In  the  year  1791,  we  find  Dr.   Coke  attempting  a  negotiation 


392  APPENDIX. 

with  Bishop  White  of  Philadelphia,  for  a  union  of  the  Methodist 
and  Protestant  Episcopal  Churches,  and  suggesting  "the  pro- 
priety of  himself  and  the  gentleman  associated  with  him"  being 
admitted  to  the  episcopacy. 

In  1799,  we  find  Dr.  Coke  petitioning  the  bishop  of  London  to 
ordain  "a  given  number"  of  Methodist  preachers,  and  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  by  this  act,  declares  himself  no  "  bishop" 
Again,  in  1813,  we  find  Dr.  Coke  writing  letters  to  Lord  Liver- 
pool and  Mr.  Wilberforce,  seeking  and  soliciting  the  appointment 
of  bishop  to  India  in  connection  with  the  established  church. 

1.  Therefore  we  arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  episcopacy  was 
foisted  upon  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church. 

2.  That  it  assumed  its  present  form  and  character  by  degrees,  as 
it  did  also  its  name. 

3.  That  John  Wesley  was  not  the  father  of  it. 

4.  That  the  laity  of  the  church,  not  being  consulted  about  it, 
as  a  matter  of  course  had  no  hand  in  its  introduction. 

5.  That  Dr.  Coke,  the  eldest  son  in  this  episcopal  line,  had  no 
confidence  in  his  right  to  exercise  episcopal  functions. 

6.  That  Dr.  Coke,  whilst  wearing  the  title  of  bishop,  was  ex- 
tremely anxious  to  obtain  the  office  and  be  invested  with  the 
functions  of  a  bishop. 

7.  That  the  existence  of  "episcopacy"  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church  has  been  the  cause  of  all  the  difficulties  and  trials 
of  any  consequence  through  which  she  has  passed. 

8.  That  the  high  claims  to  authority  and  power  set  up  for  her 
"  episcopacy"  caused  the  Rev.  William  McKendree,*  Eev.  James 
O'Kelley,  together  with  many  other  worthy  ministers,  and  a 
large  body  of  the  laity  to  secede  from  the  M.  E.  Church. 

9.  That  the  same  claims  of  power  and  prerogative  maintained 
by  the  "episcopacy"  led  to  the  expulsion  of  the  reformers  from 
the  communion  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  and  gave  rise  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church. 

10.  That  it  was  this  same  indefinable  episcopacy  that  brought 
about  the  division  between  the  North  and  South,  and  severed  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  into  two  parts  in  1844. 

*  Afterwards  Bishop  McKendree. 


APPENDIX. 


393 


CHAPTER    III. 

The  right  of  the  laity  to  participate  in  the  councils  of  the  church 
examined  and  vindicated  from  Scripture. — An  examination  of  the 
steps  taken  in  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church 
and  the  exclusion  of  the  laity  from  participating  in  her  councils. 
— The  justice  and  propriety  of  that  measure  examined. — Remarks 
in  vindication  of  the  character  of  Rev.  James  O'Kelley. 

Having  in  the  preceding  chapters  brought  to  view  the  surrep- 
titious manner  in  which  episcopacy  was  introduced  into  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  we  proceed  in  the  next  place  to 
notice  another  striking  feature  in  the  polity  of  that  church, 
namely,  the  exclusion  of  the  laity  from  the  rule-making  de- 
partment. Every  American  citizen  is  possessed  of  civil  rights. 
He  has  a  voice  in  making  the  laws  by  which  he  is  to  be  governed. 
By  delegated  authority  be  is  represented  both  in  the  state  and 
national  legislatures.  This  is  conceded  by  all  to  be  politically 
right,  because  the  principle  is  just  and  good.  But  should  it  stop 
here  ?  We  answer,  No.  Because  man  most  unquestionably  has 
his  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  rights.  The  same  principle  is 
applicable  to  church  as  well  as  to  state.  If  it  is  Justin  the  latter, 
it  is  not  unjust  in  the  former.  If  the  relationship  which  he  sus- 
tains to  the  state  justify  his  right  to  the  exercise  of  the  elective 
franchise,  surely  there  can  be  nothing  found  in  the  nature  of 
right,  or  of  religion,  or  in  the  precepts  of  the  gospel,  to  annul  the 
justice  or  propriety  of  this  principle  as  applicable  to  the  relation- 
ship which  the  membership  sustain  to  the  church  of  God. 

This  doctrine  is  admitted  and  practised  by  Episcopalians,  Pres- 
byterians, Baptists,  Lutherans,  Congregationalists,  and  by  all  the 
Protestant  denominations  of  Christians  in  the  United  States  with 
the  exception  of  the  two  divisions  of  the  old  hierarchy,  viz  :  the 
"Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,"  and  the 
"Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South."  These  two  divisions  of 
the  original  establishment  formed  by  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury, 
with  their  colleagues,  still  hold  on  to  "  the  institutions  of  the 


394  APPENDIX. 

fathers"  as  "  they  received  them  from  their  hands,"  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  laity  from  all  participation  in  the  rule-making 
department  of  the  church.  The  question  naturally  arises  have 
the  laity  no  right  to  a  voice  or  representation  in  the  department  of 
the  church  in  which  rules  are  made  for  their  government?  We 
answer  in  the  affirmative,  and  lay  down  the  proposition  that  they 
have  a  right  to  exercise  their  suffrage  in  that  department. 

ft  is  argued  by  ecclesiastical  writers  that  no  particular  form  of 
church  government  is  laid  down  in  the  New  Testament.  This 
proposition  we  shall  not  attempt  to  controvert,  but  we  do  assume 
the  position  that  enough  is  therein  laid  down  and  set  forth  to 
'  show  most  conclusively  that  the  laity  were  consulted  and  did  par- 
ticipate in  the  councils  that  regulated  the  affairs  of  the  primitive 
church.  To  sustain  this  position  we  refer,  in  the  first  place,  to 
the  election  of  the  successor  of  Judas.  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
chap,  i,  v.  15,  it  is  written,  "  And  in  those  days  Peter  stood  up 
in  the  midst  of  the  disciples,  and  said,  (the  number  of  the  names 
together  were  about  a  hundred  and  twenty,)"  &c.  Peter,  in  the 
address  upon  this  occasion,  did  not  address  apostles  alone ;  the 
sacred  penman  tells  us  he  stood  up  in  the  midst  of  the  disciples, 
and  that  their  number  was  about  one  hundred  and  twenty.  And 
in  verse  22  he  says,  "  Beginning  Irom  the  baptism  of  John,  unto 
that  same  day  that  he  was  taken  up  from  us,  must  one  be  or- 
dained to  be  a  witness  with  us  of  his  resurrection."  In  the  fol- 
lowing part  of  the  chapter  we  are  informed  that  they  appointed 
two,  Joseph  called  Barsabas,  who  was  surnamed  Justus,  and 
Matthias;  and  that  after  they  had  prayed  they  gave  forth  their 
lots.  In  this  grave  and  deeply  interesting  transaction  to  the 
primitive  church,  we  find  that  the  eleven  apostles  were  not  acting 
alone  or  independent  of  the  disciples  (the  Jaity),  but  the  number 
of  the  names  together  were  about  a  hundred  and  twenty;  and  in 
this  election  the  laity  most  unquestionably  participated  with  the 
apostles. 

The  next  passage  to  which  we  refer,  in  order  to  support  our 
position,  is  to  be  found,  Acts,  chapter  6th,  verses  2  and  3,  and 
relates  to  the  selection  of  the  seven  deacons.  It  reads  as  follows  : 
Then  the  twelve  called  the  multitude  of  disciples  unto  them, 
and  said,  it  is  not  reason  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of  God 


APPENDIX.  395 

and  serve  tables.  Therefore,  brethren,  look  ye  out  among  you 
seven  men  of  honest  report,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom, 
whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  business.  In  this  instance  the 
address  is  made  to  "  the  multitude  of  disciples."  The  business  to 
be  transacted  was  of  great  importance  to  the  church.  It  was 
therefore,  according  to  the  judgment/)!'  the  twelve  apostles,  neces- 
sary and  proper  for  the  "multitude  of  disciples'''  (the  laity  of  the 
church)  to  have  a  hand  in  this  matter;  and  as  it  pertained  to 
the  affairs  of  the  church,  it  was  laid  before  them. 

In  the  5th  and  6th  verses  we  read  thus:  And  the  saying  pleased 
the  whole  multitude;  and  they  chose  Stephen,  a  man  full  of  laith 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  Philip,  and  Prochorus,  and  Nicanor, 
and  Simon,  and  Parmenas,  and  Nicolas  a  proselyte  of  Antioch, 
whom  they  set  before  the  apostles;  and  when  they  had  prayed, 
they  laid  their  hands  on  them.  This  account,  as  stated  by  the 
sacred  writer,  clearly  establishes  the  fact  that  in  the  first  Chris- 
tian church  ever  established,  and  which  was  located  at  Jerusa- 
lem, the  laity  participated  in  the  affairs  of  its  government,  and 
acted  an  important  and  prominent  part  therein,  and  that  too,  by  the 
counsel  and  approbation  of  the  apostles.  It  was  necessary  to  elect 
officers  for  the  church.  The  apostles  would  not  arrogate  to  them- 
selves the  right  to  do  this,  independent  of  their  Christian  brethren 
comprising  the  membership;  this  right  belonged  to  the  whole 
multitude.  The  apostles  thus  conceded  it.  Upon  this  principle 
the  multitude  acted;  and  the  whole  transaction  goes  to  demon- 
strate the  proposition  that  the  laity  in  the  primitive  church  were 
not  only  possessed  of,  but  did  actually  exercise  their  suffrage  and 
authority  in  the  government  of  the  same. 

We  beg  leave  to  refer  in  the  next  place  to  Acts,  chapter  loth, 
which  affords  an  account  of  the  first  church  council  ever  held. 
The  result  of  that  council  is  given  in  the  following  words,  "Then 
pleased  it  the  aposlles  and  elders,  with  the  whole  church,  to  send 
chosen  men  of  their  own  company  to  Antioch,  with  Paul  and 
Barnabas;  namely,  Judas  surnamed  Barsabas,  and  Silas,  chief 
men  among  the  brethren :  and  they  wrote  letters  by  them  after 
this  manner:  The  apostles  and  elders,  and  brethren,  send  greeting 
unto  the  brethren  which  are  of  the  Gentiles  in  Antioch,  and 
Syria,  and   Cilicia."  (See  verses  23  and  24).     From  the   whole 


396  APPENDIX. 

tenor  of  the  transaction,  as  recorded  in  this  chapter,  it  is  evident 
that  the  laity  participated  in  the  deliberations  of  this  important 
church  council.  The  terms  used  by  the  inspired  'writer  clearly 
establish  the  fact.  The  words  apostles  and  elders  with  the  whole 
church  are  very  expressive.  Beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt, 
the  phrase  embraces  the  laity.  And  the  address  of  the  letter  sent 
by  the  messengers  chosen  by  that  council,  shows  most  clearly  to 
the  satisfaction  of  every  unprejudiced  mind,  that  three  distinct 
classes  of  persons,  all  belonging:  to  the  Christian  church,  consti- 
tuted the  writers  of  that  epistle  ;  that  apostles,  elders  and  brethren 
were  all  united  to  give  authority  and  character  to  the  same.  Let 
the  reader  view  this  transaction  of  the  church  council  at  Jerusa- 
lem in  every  aspect  of  which  it  is  susceptible,  and  the  stubborn 
truth  is  forced  upon  his  mind,  that  the  laity  of  the  church  formed 
a  part  of  that  council ;  that  they  possessed  an  indefeasible  right 
to  participate  in  the  same,  and  that  right  is  endorsed  by  apostles 
and  elders  all  co-operating  together. 

Although  no  particular  form  of  church  government  is  laid  down 
in  the  New  Testament,  yet  there  is  enough  set  forth  and  contained 
therein  to  show  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  honest  inquirer  after 
truth,  that  the  laity  have  an  iinquestionable  right  to  a  participation 
in  the  councils  that  relate  to  the  government  of  the  church.  And  by 
the  testimony  which  we  have  drawn  from  holy  writ,  and  the 
arguments  adduced  therefrom,  we  hope  that  we  have  fully  and 
fairly  sustained  the  position  laid  down  in  the  second  page  of  this 
chapter. 

The  truth  being  clearly  established  that  the  laity  wTere  possessed 
of  ecclesiastical  rights  and  privileges,  and  participated  in  the 
affairs  that  related  to  the  government  of  the  primitive  church,  the 
injustice  and  impropriety  of  the  polity  adopted  by  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  upon  her  organization,  in  excluding  the  laity 
from  participating  or  exercising  any  voice  or  authority  in  her  rule- 
making department  or  councils,  becomes  more  apparent  and  mani- 
festly more  absurd. 

There  is  not  the  least  evidence  extant  that  the  moving  spirits  in 
the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  entertained 
the  most  remote  idea  of  admitting  the  laity  to  exercise  any  in- 
fluence or  participate  in  any  way  in  the  rule-making  department. 


APPENDIX.  397 

Bat  on  the  contrary  it  is  evident  that  the  laity  were  to  be  left  out 
or  excluded,  from  the  simple  fact  that  they  were  not  invited  to  the 
conference  oi  1784  when  the  church  was  organized.  Rev.  Jesse 
Lee,  who  was  a  firm  advocate  of  the  M.  £.  Church  hierarchy, 
and  whose  account  will  not  be  called  in  question,  writes  thus 
about  the  steps  taken  in  that  organization  :  "  As  soon  as  Dr. 
Coke  landed  in  America  he  laid  his  plan  to  meet  Mr.  Asbury  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  traveling  from  New  York  to  Philadelphia 
and  then  down  into  Delaware  Stale,  he  met  with  Mr.  Asbury  at 
Barrett's  chapel,  on  the  14th  of  the  same  month,  (November,  1784.) 
They  then  consulted  together  about  the  plan  which  Mr.  Wesley 
had  adopted  and  recommended  to  us.  After  the  business  was 
maturely  weighed  and  sufficient  time  was  taken  to  consult  some 
more  of  the  preachers  who  were  present  on  that  day,  it  was 
judged  advisable  to  call  together  all  the  traveling  preachers  in 
a  general  conference  to  be  held  in  Baltimore  at  Christmas.  Mr. 
Freeborn  Garrison  undertook  to  travel  to  the  south,  in  order  to 
give  notice  to  all  the  traveling  preachers  of  this  intended  meeting. 
But  being  fond  of  preaching  by  the  way,  and  thinking  he  could 
do  the  business  by  writing,  he  did  not  give  timely  notice  to  the 
preachers  who  were  in  the  extremity  of  the  work,  and  of  course 
several  of  them  were  not  at  that  conference."  (History  of  the 
Methodists,  p.  93.) 

From  this  account  it  is  evident  that  Dr.  Coke,  Mr.  Asbury,  and 
the  few  preachers  whom  they  "  consulted,"  had  no  disposition  or 
intention  whatever,  to  permit  the  Jaity  to  have  any  weight  or 
take  any  part  in  the  organization  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church. 

Our  reasons  for  arriving  at  this  conclusion  are  these: 

1.  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr.  Asbury  determined  upon  calling  together 
none  but  the  preachers  upon  that  occasion. 

2.  Mr.  Garrison,  who  undertook  to  travel  to  the  south,  went  to 
give  notice  to  the  traveling  preachers,  and  not  to  the  laity. 

3.  The  shortness  of  the  notice  given,  which  was  just  six  weeks 
from  the  day  that  Dr.  Coke  met  Mr.  Asbury,  plainly  intimates 
that  the  laity  were  not  to  be  consulted. 

4.  Not  one  of  the  laity  took  a  seat  in  the  General  Conference 
of.  1784.     But  that  conference  was  composed  of  Dr.  Coke,  Mr. 

34 


398  APPENDIX. 

Asbury,  and  the  traveling  preachers.  Such,  then,  was  the 'com- 
plexion of  that  conference  in  which  the  government  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  received  its  mould  and  form.  The 
laity  had  no  delegated  representative  authority  in  that  body;  nor 
has  a  layman  ever  since  been  permitted  to  hold  a  seat  either  in  a 
General  or  an  Annual  Conference  of  that  church. 

The  Annual  Conferences  are  composed  of  the  bishops  and 
traveling  preachers :  no  layman  is  permitted  to  exercise  the  right 
of  taking  a  seat  with  them.  The  General  Conference  is  com- 
posed of  the  bishops  and  delegates  of  the  traveling  preachers, 
elected  by  the  respective  Annual  Conferences.  These  delegates, 
being  elected  by  the  itinerant  preachers,  receive  all  their  delegated 
authority  from  that  source,  and  consequently  are  to  be  viewed 
as  the  representatives  of  the  traveling  preachers  alone,  or  of 
the  Annual  Conferences  from  which  they  have  been  elected. 
Neither  the  voice  nor  the  vote  of  a  layman  is  heard  or  received 
in  this  body.  And,  strange  to  tell,  in  this  the  highest  council  of 
the  church  the  rules  for  the  government  of  the  laity  are  made. 
Nor  does  their  exclusion  from  the  right  of  suffrage  stop  here. 
In  the  election  of  church  officers  they  are  without  a  voice.  The 
class-leaders  are  appointed  and  the  stewards  nominated  by  the 
««  preacher  in  charge,"  and  the  former  may  be  removed  by  him  at 
his  pleasure.  The  trustees  who  are  to  hold  the  church  property 
are  appointed  by  him,  and  come  into  office  through  his  choice, 
and  consequently  in  the  Quarterly  Meeting  Conference  (in  which, 
by  virtue  of  his  authority  to  appoint  church  officers,)  he  may 
obtain  a  most  preponderating  influence;  that  body  being  composed 
of  the  preacher  in  charge,  his  assistant,  (if  he  have  one,)  all  the 
local  preachers,  exhorters,  stewards  and  class-leaders  upon  the 
circuit.  Taking  this  glance  at  the  principles  of  the  government 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  we  ask  in  all  candor,  can 
one  solitary  feature  or  principle  of  republicanism  be  found  in 
it  ?  We  think  the  answer  must  be  no.  None  can  be  found. 
Why?  Because  the  laity  are  altogether  excluded  from  the  exer- 
cise of  the  right  of  suffrage.  And  strange  as  it  may  appear,  we 
have  heard  it  argued,  bolh  by  the  ministry  and  the  laity  of  this 
church,  that  her  system  of  church  government  is  purely  republi- 
can.   One  argument  that  we  have  heard  abvanced  to  support  the 


APPENDIX. 


399 


preceding  proposition,  was  nearly  in  these  words,  "  that  the 
membership  had  a  right  to  petition  both  the  Annual  and  General 
Conferences;  that  they  did  often  petition  those  bodies,  that  their 
petitions  were  received,  read,  and  respectfully  considered;  conse- 
quently .they  were  represented,  and  had  an  influence  in  those 
bodies."  How  flimsy  the  argument!  How  miserable  the  subter- 
fuge !  Is  it  not  awell  known  fact  that  foreigners  sometimes  petition 
our  national  and  state  legislatures,  and  that  their  petitions  are 
respectfully  treated  ?  and  who,  we  ask,  with  any  pretensions  to 
intelligence  or  even  to  sancity,  would  presume  to  assert  that  they 
are  represented  in  such  legislatures,  when  the  truth  is  they  have 
neither  part  nor  lot  in  them  ?  Again,  some  of  the  votaries  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  hierarchy  have  endeavored  to  explain  the 
"  republicanism "  of  that  church  by  a  process  of  reasoning  quite 
different.  They  lay  down  the  proposition  that  the  laity  make, 
constitute,  and  appoint  the  preachers,  who  make  the  rules  for 
their  government.  The  loonderful  argument  to  support  this  pro- 
position runs  thus:  "the  laity  recommend  all  persons  who  are 
candidates  for  preacher's  license  to  the  Quarterly  Conference ; 
that  without  such  recommendation  they  could  not  obtain  license 
or  orders; — that  all  the  traveling  ministers  who  have  seats  in 
an  Annual  Conference,  or  are  elected  to  seats  in  the  General 
Conference,  once  obtained  this  recommendation  from  the  class 
or  society  of  which  he  was  a  member."  Such  an  argument 
should  excite  our  pity;  and  no  doubt  the  only  reason  why  such 
a  one  was  ever  used  was  this,  there  was  none  better  to  give,  and 
a  bad  argument  was  better  than  none. 

But  light  as  it  is,  suppose  we  weigh  it  in  the  scales  of  truth. 
When  a  society  recommends  a  man  to  the  proper  authority 
to  obtain  license  to  preach,  what  is  the  extent  or  latitude  of  that 
recommendation  ?  Is  it  to  become  a  traveling  preacher  ?  Answer, 
no ;  because  the  authority  to  which  they  recommend  him,  can- 
not constitute  him  such.  Is  it  to  have  him  ordained  to  the  min- 
istry ?  Answer,  no;  because  the  authority  in  question  are  also 
deficient  in  that  respect.  Is  it  to  have  him  constituted  a  member 
of  an  Annual  Conference  ?  Answer,  no;  because  the  authority 
to  which  the  society  recommend  him  cannot  make  him  one. 
Does  the  society  then  recommend  him  as  a  proper  person  to 


400 


APPENDIX. 


make  Jaws  or  rules  for  the  church?  Answer,  no;  because  they 
recommend  him  only  to  the  Quarterly  Conference  as  a  suitable 
person  to  be  licensed  to  preach.  The  recommendation  goes  no 
further;  it  looks  no  further. 

1.  The  person  so  recommended,  when  he  shall  have  been  ex- 
amined by  the  proper  authorities,  may  be  found  deficient  in  the 
requisite  qualifications,  and  may  fail  entirely  in  obtaining  license. 

2.  The  applicant  may  have  no  idea  of  acting  in  any  other 
sphere  lhan  that  of  a  local  preacher,  consequently  he  can  never 
take  any  part  in  making  rules  for  the  church. 

3.  The  applicant  so  recommended  by  his  society  may  obtain 
license  to  preach,  be  recommended  by  the  proper  authority,  the 
Quarterly  Conference,  as  a  suitable  person  to  enter  the  traveling 
connexion,  and  yet  never  obtain  full  standing  in  the  Annual 
Conference,  and  consequently  never  become  a  suitable  person  to 
exercise  any  weight  or  influence  in  the  rule-making  department 
of  the  church. 

Thus  it  will  be  perceived  that  the  argument  in  question 
amounts  to  nothing.  Indeed  all  those  who  set  up  such  argu- 
ments seem  to  forget  the  fact  that  when  some  thousands  of  the 
members  of  the  M.  E.  Church  petitioned  the  General  Conference 
of  1824,  asking  that  body,  in  most  respectful  terms,  to  adopt  such 
measures  as  would  admit  the  laity  to  be  represented  in  the  law- 
making department  of  the  church ;  claiming  it  as  a  right  and  a 
privilege  to  which  they  were  in  justice  entitled;  they  were 
answered  in  a  pastoral  address  adopted  by  the  conference  and 
signed  by  the  bishops,  with  a  "pardon  vs,  dear  brethren,  if  ice 
know  no  such  riglits,  if  ive  comprehend  no  such  privileges." 

Rev.  Jesse  Lee,  in  speaking  of  the  conference  that  convened 
at  Baltimore  on  the  27th  of  December,  1784,  says,  "At  this  con- 
ference we  formed  ourselves  into  a  regular  church,  by  the  name 
of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.''*  We  have  before  stated 
that  the  laity  were  not  represented  in  this  conference,  nor  were 
they  notified,  so  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  learn,  that  such  a 
measure  as  the  organization  of  the  church  was  intended  to  be 
adopted  at  that  time.     But  the  deed  was  done,   and  done,  too, 

*See  Lee's  History  of  the  Methodists,  p.  94. 


APPENDIX.  401 

without  the  sanction  or  consent  of  the  laity  being  obtained. 
The  question  now  is,  was  it  right  ?  We  answer,  no.  It  was 
unjust,  it  was  unrighteous.  They  professed  to  be  acting  under 
the  sanction  of  Mr.  Wesley's  name.  In  the  first  quotation 
which  we  have  introduced  in  this  chapter  from  "Lee's  History  of 
the  Methodists,"  we  are  informed  that  when  Dr.  Coke  and  Mr. 
Asbury  first  met  together  in  America  "  they  consulted  together 
about  the  plan  which  Mr.  Wesley  had  adopted  and  recommended 
to  us."  In  all  our  researches  and  inquiries  in  the  history  of 
Methodism  we  have  been  unable  to  find  any  thing  which  can  be 
taken  for  the  plan  alluded  to,  unless  it  be  the  letter  of  Mr.  Wes- 
ley, dated  September  10,  1784,  and  addressed  "To  Dr.  Coke, 
Mr.  Asbury,  and  our  brethren  in  North  America."  No  other 
document,  showing  the  semblance  of  "apian,"  has  ever  been 
produced  in  this  country,  upon  the  authority  of  his  name  with 
the  exception  of  this  one.  But  what  is  the  plan  that  this  docu- 
ment recommends  ?  Or  what  is  the  advice  therein  given?  Let 
Mr.  Wesley  answer  for  himself  in  his  own  words.  Here  it  is. 
"  They  (the  American  Methodists)  are  now  at  full  liberty  simply 
to  follow  the  Scriptures  and  the  primitive  church.  Jind  we  judge 
it  best  that  they  should  stand  fast  in  that  liberty  wherewith  God 
has  so  strangely  made  them  free."  This  advice  is  good.  It  is 
worthy  of  the  great  and  good  Wesley.  But  it  was  not  regarded 
by  the  conference  of  1784.  If  it  had  been,  the  rights  of  the 
laity  would  neither  have  been  disregarded  nor  trampled  under 
foot.  If,  according  to  Mr.  Wesley's  advice,  the  usages  of  the 
"primitive  church"  had  been  followed,  the  laity  would  have 
been  called  upon,  and  permitted  to  exercise  their  rights,  and  act 
their  part  in  the  governmental  affairs  of  the  church. 

As  an  ecclesiastical  historian,  Mosheim  ranks  among  the  most 
pre-eminent.  This  writer  informs  us  that  the  people,  the  laity,  did 
participate  in  the  councils,  and  exercise  a  due  weight  and  influence 
in  the  affairs  and  government  of  the  primitive  church.  He  says, 
"  It  was,  therefore,  the  assembly  of  the  people  which  chose 
their  own  rulers  and  teachers,  or  received  them  by  a  free  and 
authoritative  consent,  when  recommended  by  others.  The  same 
people  rejected  or  confirmed,  by  their  suffrage,  the  laws  that  were 
proposed  by  their  rulers  to  the  assembly ;  excommunicated  profli- 


402  APPENDIX. 

gate  and  unworthy  members  of  the  church ;  restored  the  penitents 
to  their  forfeited  privileges;  passed  judgment  upon  the  different 
subjects  of  controversy  and  dissension  that  arose  in  their  com- 
munity; examined  and  decided  the  disputes  which  happened 
between  the  elders  and  deacons;  and,  in  a  word,  exercised  all  that 
authority  which  belongs  to  such  as  are  invested  with  the  sove- 
reign power."  This  authority  and  these  rights,  exercised  by  the 
"people"  of  the  primitive  church,  the  Baltimore  Conference  of 
1784  withheld  from  the  "'people"  of  the  M.  E.  Church.  Mr. 
Wesley  held  the  reins  of  power  in  his  own  hands  among  the 
Methodists  in  the  united  kingdom  of  Great  Britain ;  he  was  ac- 
knowledged by  these  as  their  spiritual  ftuher.  He  saw  proper  to 
exclude  republicanism  from  his  polity  in  the  government  of  his 
societies  in  that  part  of  the  world.  Indeed  it  is  very  probable 
that  he  may  have  been  quite  anti-republican  in  his  feelings  in  a 
general  point  of  view,  as  it  is  a  well  known  fact  that  he  was 
warmly  opposed  to  the  independence  of  the  United  States.  We 
copy  the  following  characteristic  letter  written  by  him,  and 
which  was  published  in  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Magazine 
(London)  for  April,  1830.     It  is  addressed  to  Mr.  John  Mason. 

Near  London,  January  13,  1790. 
My  Dear  Brother, — As  long  as  I  live  the  people  shall  have  no 
share  in  choosing  either  stewards  or  leaders  among  the  Method- 
ists. We  have  not  and  never  had  any  such  custom.  We  are  no 
republicans,  and  never  intend  to  be.  It  would  be  better  for  those 
that  are  so  minded  to  go  quietly  away.  I  have  been  uniform 
both  in  doctrine  and  discipline  for  above  these  fifty  years;  and  it 
is  a  littie  too  late  for  me  to  turn  into  a  new  path,  now  I  am  old 
and  gray-headed.  Neither  good  old  brother  Porna  (God  bless 
him)  expects  it  from  me,  nor  brother  Wood,  nor  brother  Fla- 
mank.  If  you  and  I  shall  be  called  hence  this  year,  we  may 
bless  God  that  we  have  not  Jived  in  vain.  Come,  let  us  have  a 
few  more  strokes  at  Satan's  kingdom,  and  then  we  shall  depart 
in  peace! 

From  the  tenor  of  this  letter  we  are  left  without  a  doubt  con- 
cerning the  anti-republicanism  of  Mr.  Wesley's  policy  with  re- 
spect to  the  government  of  his  Societies  in  Great  Britain.     It  was 


APPENDIX.  403 

in  that  school  that  the  two  Britons,  Coke  and  Asbury,  formed 
their  opinions  of  church  policy  for  the  Methodists.  They  were 
well  acquainted  with  the  modus  operandi  by  which  Mr.  Wesley 
held  the  reins  of  power  over  his  societies, — and  if  they  were 
the  lovers  of  power  and  authority  which  some  of  their  friends 
have  represented  them  to  be,  we  need  be  at  no  loss  to  account 
for  the  manner  in  which  they,  as  the  moving  spirits  and  active 
managers  in  the  conference  of  1784,  ventured  to  depart  from  the 
counsel  and  advice  of  Mr.  Wesley,  with  regard  to  the  proper 
course  to  be  pursued  by  the  American  Methodists;  and  this 
departure  most  unjustly  excluded  the  laity  from  all  participation 
in  the  councils  of  the  church,  by  adopting  something  similar  to 
the  pattern  which  they  had  seen  in  England. 

Thus  have  we  presented  to  view  the  manner  in  which  the 
laity  in  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  have  been  proscribed 
from  a  participation  in  the  councils  which  form  the  rules  for  the 
government  of  her  members  ;  and  the  anomalous  spectacle  is  pre- 
sented before  us  of  the  itinerant  ministry  arrogating  to  themselves 
the  authority  and  right  to  legislate  for  the  whole  church,  to  enact 
the  rules  for  the  government  of  all  its  members,  and  also  to  exe- 
cute those  rules.  With  regard  to  the  character  of  such  a  govern- 
ment as  the  one  which  we  have  described,  we  beg  leave  in  this 
place  to  quote  the  opinion  of  Dr.  Bascom,  which  is  certainly 
entitled  to  much  weight.  The  doctor  says,  "A  prescriptive  legis- 
lative body,  making  laws  without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of 
the  people  to  be  governed  by  them,  is  a  despotism.  Legislatures 
without  constituents,  or  peers  and  fellows  deputing  them  as  their 
representatives  and  actors, — thus  constituting  themselves  a  legis- 
lature beyond  the  control  of  the  people, — is  an  exhibition  of 
tyranny  in  one  of  its  most  dangerous  forms."  With  the  learned 
author  just  quoted  we  fully  concur  in  opinion.  The  argument 
has  been  advanced  by  the  advocates  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
Church  polity,  that  "  the  system  of  government  adopted  by  the 
ecclesiastical  authorities  of  said  church  was  prepared  for  the  ac- 
ceptance of  the  membership, — that  every  one  who  united  with  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  accepted  and  adopted  that  system, — 
and  consequently  agreed  to  submit  and  conform  to  the  same." 
Now  it  must  be  admitted  that  such  would  certainly  be  a  very 


404 


APPENDIX. 


tame  submission,  when  we  take  into  view  the  powers  of  the 
General  Conference,  and  the  alarming  extent  to  which  those 
powers  are  sometimes  exercised.  If  the  General  Conference  were 
infallible,  such  submission  would  not  involve  so  much  impropriety, 
nor  prove  such  a  dangerous  surrender  of  the  exercise  of  just  and 
proper  rights.  That  the  action  of  the  General  Conference  does 
often  interfere  with  the  feelings  and  ecclesiastical  situation  of  those 
who  have  tamely  submitted  to  the  government  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  many  will  testify.  The  General  Conference  of 
1844  passed  a  resolution,  or  adopted  a  plan  to  divide  the  church 
into  two  separate  divisions,  North  and  South.  The  laity  were 
not  consulted  at  all  upon  the  subject.  The  ministry,  we  presume, 
plead  no  authority  of  constitution  or  Discipline  for  so  doing ;  but 
embarked  in  this  work  because  they  believed  their  powers  to  be 
competent  to  the  tast  under  the  circumstances.  A  plan  of  sepa- 
ration was  agreed  upon  by  the  itinerant  ministry  ;  the  laity  having 
no  hand  in  it.  That  act  has  proved  sorely  embarrassing  to  thou- 
sands of  the  Jaity  of  the  church,  and  has  led  to  consequences  and 
events  long  to  be  deplored  in  some  of  the  churches  in  Virginia ; 
particularly  in  the  town  of  Alexandria  at  this  time.  What 
divisions  in  feeling  !  what  enmities  the  plan  of  separation  has 
produced  !  And  that  plan  was  devised  and  acted  upon  by  the 
itinerant  ministry  without  consulting  the  laity  !  But  the  question 
may  be  asked,  can  there  be  any  impropriety  on  the  part  of  a 
Christian  by  connecting  himself  with  an  ecclesiastical  establish- 
ment in  which  the  right  of  the  elective  franchise  is  withheld  from 
him?  We  beg  leave  to  call  up  Dr.  Bascom  to  answer  this  ques- 
tion.    Hear  him  : 

"  Whenever  a  Christian  people  place  themselves  under  a  min- 
istry who  claim  the  right  of  thinking  and  deciding  for  them,  in 
matters  of  faith  and  morality,  they  are  guilty  of  impiely,  however 
unintentional,  to  the  great  Head  of  the  church,  inasmuch  as 
it  is  required  of  every  Christian  to  reflect  and  determine  for 
himself  in  all  such  cases,  and  the  duty  cannot  be  performed  by 
another." 

This  sentiment  of  the  doctor's  is  weighty.  Let  the  reader 
digest  it  well.  Comment  is  unnecessary.  It  is  comprehensive 
and  expressive.     There  are  thousands  of  the  laity,  no  doubt, 


APPENDIX.  405 

who  suppose  that  all  church  authority  of  right  belongs  to  the 
clergy;  and  many  may  even  glory  in  the  "supposed  fact  that 
they  have  no  ecclesiastical  right;"  and  that  all  church  power  is 
safely  lodged  in  the  hands  of  the  itinerant  ministry.  If  the  piety 
of  such  men  is  not  deeper  than  their  intelligence,  they  should  he 
objects  of  our  pity.  The  sentiment  quoted  above  bears  very  hard 
upon  all  such.  But  the  question  may  be  asked,  may  it  not  tend 
to  promote  the  unity  and  prosperity  of  a  church,  if  the  laity  waive 
or  disdain  the  exercise  of  all  ecclesiastical  rights,  and  suffer  the 
exercise  of  church  power  or  authority  to  be  vested  entirely  in  the 
ministry?     We  again  call  Dr.  Bascom  to  the  stand.     Hear  him: 

"  Whenever  the  members  of  a  church  resign  the  right  of  suf- 
frage, and  of  discussing  freely  and  fearlessly  the  conduct  of  their 
rulers,  whether  it  be  done  by  direct  concession,  or  indirectly  by 
attaching  themselves  to  and  continuing  within  the  pale  of  a 
church  where  such  a  system  of  polity  obtains,  they  renounce  to  a 
fearful  extent  one  of  the  first  principles  of  the  Protestamt 
religion,  and  bring  dishonor  upon  its  name." 

So  wrote  Dr.  Bascom,  and  who  will  dare  to  controvert  the  doc- 
trine laid  down  in  the  sentiment  ?  It  is  worthy  of  all  considera- 
tion, and  merits  the  attention  of  every  inquirer  after  truth.  In 
the  history  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  we  find  that  she 
has  repeatedly  been  agitated,  and  in  every  instance  the  nature  of 
her  government  has  been  the  exciting  cause ;  that  the  claims  to 
high  legislative  authority  set  up  by  the  ministry  have  been  one 
of  the  most  fruitful  sources  of  her  troubles.  Her  membership, 
generally,  are  satisfied  with  her  government,  or  profess  so  to  be, 
(although  conscious  that  they  are  permitted  to  exercise  no  weight 
or  voice  in  it,)  until  by  some  unexpected  change  in  affairs  they 
are  made  to  feel  the  weight  of  arbitrary  power.  The  scales  thus 
falling  from  their  eyes,  they  begin  to  talk  about  just  rights,  equal 
rights,  "mutual  rights,"  &c.  Such  is  the  peculiar  attachment  of 
some  to  what  they  have  heard  called  the  "  most  excellent  book 
of  Discipline"  of  the  M.  E.  Church,  that  they  will  not  suffer 
themselves  to  peruse  a  paper  or  document  that  calls  in  question 
the  justice  of  the  principles  couched  in  that  book.  The  following 
anecdote  may  not  be  inappropriate.  A  gentleman  presented  to 
his  neighbor  a  little  pamphlet  entitled,  "  Questions  and  Answers 


406  APPENDIX. 

on  Church  Government,"  with  a  request  that  he  should  read  it, 
as  it  contained  some  things  that  had  interested  him.  This  neigh- 
bor was  a  member  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  and  quite 
zealous  for  her  Discipline.  Upon  laking  up  the  little  pamphlet 
in  question,  and  reading  one  or  two  pages,  he  threw  it  down,  ex- 
claiming, "  1  shall  not  read  it ;  I  see  at  once  that  the  object  is  to 
show  the  superiority  of  the  M.  P.  Church  government  over  that  of 
the  M.  E.  Church  ;  and  that  is  enough  for  me  to  know."  Such 
are  the  men  we  suppose  to  whom  Dr.  Bascom  alludes  when  he 
says,  "  They  renounce  to  a  fearful  extent  one  of  the  first  prin- 
ciples of  the  Protestant  religion,  and  bring  dishonor  upon  its 
name." 

REV.    JAMES    O'KELLEY. 

We  have  had  occasion  to  introduce  the  name  of  this  dis- 
tinguished minister  of  the  gospel  into  the  body  of  this  work; 
and  as  much  has  been  said  and  written  from  certain  quarters, 
tending  to  disparage  the  name  and  character  of  that  good  and 
worthy  man,  we  deem  it  but  justice  to  his  memory  to  make  a  few 
statements  in  this  place  in  regard  to  him.  At  the  conference  in 
Baltimore,  in  1792,  Mr.  O'Kelley  brought  in  a  resolution  which 
read  in  these  words :  "  After  the  bishop  appoints  the  preachers 
at  conference  to  their  several  circuits,  if  any  one  think  himself 
injured  by  the  appointment,  he  shall  have  liberty  to  appeal  to  the 
conference  and  state  his  objections;  and  if  the  conference  approve 
his  objections,  the  bishop  shall  appoint  him  to  another  circuit." 
The  debates  on  this  resolution  sorely  agitated  the  conference. 
It  had  many  talented  advocates  as  well  as  opponents.  The 
measure  failed  when  it  was  put  to  vote.  The  one-man-power 
party  triumphed;  and  Rev.  James  O'Kelley,  Rev.  Wm.  McKen- 
dree,  and  several  other  ministers  withdrew  from  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  as  they  were  unwilling  longer  to  endure  a 
government  so  arbitrary. 

Rev.  Jesse  Lee  tells  us  in  his  history  that  one  of  the  preachers 
told  him  "  that  it  was  his  intention  to  have  O'Kelley  tried  at  that 
conference  for  the  false  doctrines  which  he  had  been  preaching ; 
and  he  believed  that  his  leaving  the  conference  was  more  out  of 
fear  of  being  brought  to  trial  than  on  account  of  the  appeal." 


APPENDIX. 


407 


We  understand  from  Mr.  Lee  that  the  "false  doctrines"  alluded 
to  was  Unitarianism.  Dr.  Bangs,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Church,"  presents  Mr.  O'Kelley  in  a  position 
scarcely  more  enviable.  These  charges  and  allegations  have 
been  repeated  and  reiterated  so  long  and  so  often  that  many  at  the 
present  time  take  it  for  granted  that  they  are  true.  I  shall  here 
record  the  testimony  of  one  of  his  Christian  friends  in  vindication 
of  his  character,  one  who  knew  him  well,  and  I  might  almost  say, 
one  who  knew  him  best.  This  writer  says  of  Mr.  O'Kelley: 
i-  "  Many  slanders  have  been  leveled  at  this  eminently  great  and 
pious  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  by  the  sycophants  of  episcopacy. 
According  to  them  his  soul  was  ambitious,  and  his  doctrines 
heterodox;  he  withdrew  because  he  was  not  made  a  bishop. 
This  senseless  slander,  which  no  man  of  common  understanding 
can  believe,  has  been  circulated  with  as  much  seriousness  by 
some  of  the  '  divinely  authorized'  as  if  they  really  believed  the 
truth  of  their  assertion.  He  was  charged  with  being  a  Unitarian, 
and  of  denying  the  divine  character  of  our  common  Saviour.  I 
was  intimately  acquainted  with  him  for  thirty-five  years,  in 
which  time  I  have  been  with  him  at  different  times  for  months 
together.  I  knew  as  much  of  his  sentiments  as  any  human  being 
upon  earth,  and  I  declare  before  God  that  he  always  contended/or 
the  divinity  of  Christ,  and  the  fullness  and  extent  of  his  atonement, 
with  a  strength  of  thought  and  energy  of  expression  that  I  have 
never  heard  equaled  hy  any  other  man.  This  was  the  subject  of 
the  last  sermon  I  ever  heard  him  deliver,  when  bending  under  the 
weight  of  almost  ninety  years.  His  superior  as  a  Christian  and 
his  equal  as  a  preacher  I  have  never  yet  seen.  He  died  in  the 
triumphs  of  faith,  and  is  now  seated  in  his  heavenly  Saviour's 
kingdom.  He  was  the  friend  and  instructor  of  my  youth,  and 
his  memory  shall  be  dear  to  me  until  my  heart  is  cold  in  death. 

"  Here  I  wish  to  make  a  few  remarks  respecting  the  Christian 
Church.  About  the  year  1794  Mr.  O'Kelley  and  others,  who  had 
withdrawn  from  the  Episcopal  Methodists  at  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1792,  with  several  societies  and  local  preachers, 
formed  themselves  into  an  independent  church,  and  called  it  the 
'Republican  Methodist  Church.'  This  name  it  bore  for  several 
years,  until  a  majority  became  convinced  that  the  disciples  of 


408  APPENDIX. 

Christ  should  be  called  by  his  name,  believing  this  was  the 
worthy  name  by  which  the  primitive  saints  were  called,  and  that 
they  were  so  called  first  at  Antioch  by  divine  appointment,  for  so 
the  original  term  seems  to  imply.  This  they  believe  is  the  new 
name  by  which  the  Lord  promised  his  followers  should  be  called. 
This  name,  therefore,  was  adopted.  There  were,  indeed,  a  few 
who  opposed  its  adoption,  viz:  Rev.  John  Robertson,  Thomas 
Hardy  and  Edward  Almond,  and  a  few  private  members,  who 
still  retained  the  former  name.  This  little  church  is  now  extinct. 
The  church  in  connection  with  Mr.  O'Kelley  always  did  and  still 
does  believe,  and  her  ministers  preach,  the  doctrine  of  a  trinity, 
the  divinity  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  his  atonement  for  lost  sinners, 
as  fully  and  closely  as  any  people  upon  earth.  Some  years  after 
the  organization  of  this  church  a  sect  sprang  up  in  New  England, 
who  are  strictly  Unitarians,  also  calling  themselves  the  'Christian 
Church.'  They  published  a  paper  entitled  '  The  Herald  of  Gos- 
pel Liberty,'  edited  by  Elias  Smith,  in  which  they  deny  the 
divinity  of  Christ,  and  ridicule  the  doctrine  of  atonement.  They 
refuse  baptism  to  infants,  and  administer  it  by  immersion  to  adults 
alone. 

"  Seventeen  or  eighteen  years  past,  a  missionary  by  the  name  of 
Plummer  was  sent  from  this  body,  who  attended  a  general  meet- 
ing of  the  Christian  Church.  Mr.  O'Kelley  asked  him,  '  If  Jesus 
Christ  were  now  upon  earth,  and  you  knew  it  were  he,  would 
you  worship  him  ?'  He  answered,  '  No,  no  sooner  than  I  would 
you,  for  1  do  not  believe  he  was  any  more  divine.'  Mr. 
O'Kelley  replied,  'Then  I  have  no  fellowship  for  you?'  He 
was  a  man  of  insinuating  address.  He  drew  off  Mr.  William 
Guiry,  a  man  of  ingenuity  and  eloquence ;  and  they  proselyted 
some  of  the  most  numerous  and  respectable  societies  in  Virginia 
and  every  traveling  preacher  at  that  time  in  connection  with  Mr. 
O'Kelley,  with  some  local  preachers  and  a  few  members,  and  two 
or  three  preachers  in  this  State.  There  is  no  intercourse  between 
these  churches.  Those  who  remained  firm  to  their  first  doctrines 
refused  all  fellowship  with  this  heterodox  party,  and  viewed 
them  as  refined  infidels  infinitely  more  dangerous  than  the  dis- 
ciples of  Voltaire,  Rosseau,  or  Paine.  But  being  called  by  the 
same  general  name,  the  same  heterodoxy  is  by  many  indiscrimi- 


APPENDIX.  409 

nately  ascribed  to  all,  for  the  want  of  information,  and  by  numbers 
more  from  design,  especially  some  of  the  'divinely  authorized,' 
many  of  whom  know  better,  but,  to  injure  a  church  they  do  not  love, 
they  zealously  propagate  the  cruel  slander.  The  charge  of  Arian- 
ism,  Socinianism,  &c,  so  liberally  bestowed  upon  the  orthodox 
Christian  Church,*  has  more  than  all  other  things  retarded  its 
prosperity  and  advancement ;  but,  in  spite  of  all  opposition,  it  is 
gradually  increasing.  It  has  a  number  of  respectable,  pious  and 
useful  preachers,  and  some  of  them  of  superior  talents,  and 
several  thousand  members.  There  have  been  some  considerable 
revivals  in  it  in  the  course  of  a  few  years,  with  the  addition  of 
some  hundreds  of  members.  The  members  and  preachers  of  this 
church  are  to  a  man  (1  believe)  genuine  republicans,  and  ardently 
wish  the  most  complete  success  to  the  reformers  in  their  glorious 
struggle. 

"  This  brief  statement  I  have  shown  to  an  old  preacher  of  high 
standing  and  several  members  of  the  Christian  Church,  who  are 
of  opinion  that  its  publicity  may  be  attended  with  good  conse- 
quences. To  Mr.  O'Kelly  and  his  dissenting  brethren,  as  well  as 
us  reformers,  has  been  meted  out  a  full  share  of  episcopal  ire. 
We  may  well  doubt  the  goodness  of  a  cause  which  requires  such 
weapons  to  defend  it.  Despotism  and  tyranny  need  persecution 
and  slander  to  support  them.  Truth  and  justice  can  stand  by 
themselves.  If  they  had  truth  on  their  side,  surely  it  could  be 
fairly  defended;  and  although  the  bombast  of  an  Armistead,  and 
the  sophistical  reasoning  of  one  of  the  laity,  a  Bond  and  an 
Emory  have  failed,  (here  must  be  at  least  one  champion  in  the 
invincible  phalanx  of  the  itinerants  who,  Sampson-like,  could 
step  forward  and  tear  up  the  sophisms  of  the  reformers  by  the 
roots  and  expose  their  nefarious  designs  to  the  contempt  and  ab- 
horrence of  the  world. f  The  advocates  for  reform  deserve  well 
of  their  brethren  of  every  sect,  for  indeed  religious  liberty  is  a 
common  cause;  and  notwithstanding  all  that  their  enemies  can 
say  against  them,  the  names  of  an  O'Kelley,  a  Jennings,  a  Shinn, 

*  The  church  in  which  Mr.  O'Kelley  lived  in  full  fellowship. 
fThis  article  was  written  in  the  time  in  which  the  reform  ques- 
tion was  agitated. 


410  APPENDIX. 

a  McCaine,  a  Snethen,  and  a  Dorsey,  with  many  others  of  the 
martyrs  of  the  present  times,  shall  live  embalmed  in  the  grateful 
recollection  of  unborn  thousands,  and  be  handed  down  with  honor 
to  the  latest  generation,  while  the  names  of  the  present  episcopal 
despots  shall  perish  from  the  earth  or  only  be  remembered  with 
disgust  as  the  religious  oppressors  of  the  present  day. 

"  A  CiTrzEN  of  Caswell  County,  N.  C." 

We  regard  the  preceding  paper  as  a  triumphant  defence  of  that 
pious  and  worthy  minister,  Mr.  O'Kelley.  Let  those  who  have 
regarded  him  as  guilty  of  the  heresy  of  Unitarianism  weigh  it 
well.  But  the  question  may  be  asked,  has  not  the  denomination 
with  which  he  lived  in  fellowship,  embraced  the  doctrine  of  the 
Unitarians  ?  There  is  a  union  or  fraternal  relation  of  some  kind 
existing  between  them  and  the  Unitarians  of  the  north,  which 
union  was  consummated  about  the  year  1839.  In  the  south  there 
are  three  conferences,  called  "•  the  North  Carolina  and  Virginia 
Christian  Conference,"  "  the  North  Carolina  Christian  Confer- 
ence," and  "  the  Eastern  Virginia  Christian  Conference."  The 
last  named  conference  is  composed  principally  of  the  party  drawn 
away  from  Mr.  O'Kelley  by  Mr.  Plummer.  The  three  conferences 
meet  together  in  what  they  call  the  "  Southern  Christian  Asso- 
ciation." They  have  established  a  paper  entitled  the  "  Christian 
Sun,"  w-hich  is  devoted  to  the  interests  of  the  association,  and  in 
which  the  doctrine  of  Unitarianism  is  boldly  advocated. 

The  last  session  of  this  association  adopted  the  following  reso- 
lution, "Resolved,  that  we  advise  our  brethren  to  procure  for 
their  use  the  hymn  book  published  by  the  Christian  General 
Book  Association  at  Albany,  N.  Y."  Although  we  believe,  from 
our  acquaintance  with  these  people,  that  somefeiv  of  the  ministers 
are  sound  in  the  doctrines  once  preached  by  Mr.  O'Kelley,  yet  we 
think  this  alliance  with  the  Unitarians  is  altogether  improper  and 
highly  reprehensible,  as  it  appears  that  they  unite  upon  a  name, 
keeping  doctrines  and  faith  out  of  the  question.  Under  all  these 
circumstances,  we  fear  that  the  flourishing  Christian  Churches 
planted  by  the  venerable  O'Kelley  will  ere  long  become  the 
school  of  Unitarianism. 

Mr.  O'Kelley  was  like  Mr.  Whitfield,  a  great  and  successful 
minister  of  the  gospel,   but  deficient  in  the  economy  of  church 


APPENDIX.  411 

government.  Herein  be  failed.  If  the  more  cautious  and  politic 
Wesley  had  pursued  the  course  adopted  by  the  two  former  and 
failed  to  bind  his  societies  together  by  written  rules,  and  unite 
them  thereby  upon  well  denned  principles,  they  might  at  this 
day  have  been  as  few  in  numbers  as  those  of  Mr.  Whitfield. 
Mr.  O'Kelley  and  his  preachers,  with  the  societies,  adopted  the 
New  Testament  both  as  a  confession  of  faith  and  a  discipline  for 
the  government  of  the  church.  But  men  with  regard^to  the  doc- 
trines of  the  New  Testament  differ  widely — even  so  with  regard 
to  the  maxims  of  church  polity  contained  therein.  And  it  is  the 
opinion  of  those  most  experienced  in  ecclesiastical  affairs  that  a 
condensed  embodiment  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  religion 
and  a  summary  of  well  defined  rules  for  government,  secure  the 
most  unity  and  harmony  in  the  church,  and  lead  to  the  greatest 
prosperity,  as  they  admit  of  less  latitude  of  construction  than 
many  take  in  the  New  Testament.  Mr.  O'Kelley  has  gone  the 
way  of  all  the  earth,  but  he  has  left  a  name  and  a  character  that 
live  embalmed  in  the  fond  recollection  of  numerous  friends  and 
admirers.  He  closed  his  useful  life  in  peace,  and  we  trust  has 
entered  into  that  rest  which  remaineth  for  the  people  of  God. 


THE   END. 


Date  Due 

1 

jUN22  "54 

Amy    ^ 

AUQ  4    "54 

'   V.    :      ]        Q 

.IAN  28"^ 

OCT    6 

AUG36  '56 

OCT  2  4 

;  ^     - 

MOV  0  B 

NOV  $  1 

NOV  2  1 

NOV    13  I 

>PH  0  k 

O'C     r 

kar  1 9  tl 

MM  1X  TC 

MAR  2  -   - 

Wi 

decq?; 

«*.3ii 

OcG  1  6 

*U/?Q     f 

2  91 

\  -vr 

SEP  2  £-' 

j  V     A     <*.' 

•^C     a 

:  i% 

cct    2; 

,5j*S  University  Librari 


D01284146Q 


5 


32  ^ 


- 


Div.S  287.7        P232H        62956  2 


<>-:■    -W 


•3* 


tmiBm 


